Dear readers,
The current issue of the Scandinavian Psychoanalytic Review that you hold in your hands marks a reboot. A new team of editors took over during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the chief editorship has now switched to Stockholm, Sweden which underlines the rolling responsibility we all have for the journal. The situation we found ourselves in was quite problematic. There had been a long delay in the production of new issues and the communication structures had to be rebuilt; for instance, a lot of virtual editor meetings took place to speed up the entire production process, from reviewing manuscripts to production.
At the same time, we also started discussing how to expand and make the journal more attractive to psychoanalytically affiliated readers. We were motivated in our work by the statistics of downloads, and indications are that they are stable and even increasing, with new interest in the journal!
We were also confronted with organizational changes on the publisher’s side, as Taylor & Francis had not only moved the entire publishing house to the United States but also made significant changes per points of contact, and more.
Nevertheless, we think that we have come quite a way back to a regular publication ‘rhythm.’ Bear with us. This issue will be followed shortly by a second issue for 2022, and for the fall we hope to release the first 2023 issue. By 2024 we plan to be fully on track again.
As the new Editor-in-Chief I ‘thank you’ for your continued support. At the same time, I ask for your understanding about our recent publication delays. Please support our journal going forward by either proposing to publish your manuscripts in our journal and/or joining our editorial review board! Also, please spread the information about this journal and specific articles in your networks and to your colleagues!
In this issue you will find a variety of what we consider very interesting articles. The spectrum is covered with articles on theoretical psychoanalytic problems, clinical applications, conceptual articles with interdisciplinary perspectives, as well as articles focusing on specific patient groups or different treatment approaches.
Siri Gullestad presents ‘Confronting the foreign. Surrealism and psychoanalysis in dialogue.’ In her article, a historical outline is given on the history of ‘dialogue’ between surrealism and psychoanalysis, a history containing several misunderstandings. Gullestad offers a convincing demonstration through the use of several pieces of art as examples what conceptual problems can emerge during the process of sexual ‘liberation.’ She argues for a multiplicity of significant aspects to this process, like how to deal with the unknown, how to ‘emancipate’ from masculine views of the female body many artists have had, and underlying biases of this liberation process with respect to gendered perspectives.
In ‘Presence and absence – Some psychoanalytic semiotic pre-conditions for the psychoanalytic work,’ Bent Rosenbaum addresses the importance of the dialectics between ‘presence’ and ‘absence’ for the psychoanalytic clinical work. The importance of the dimension of absence cannot be overestimated when dealing with ‘material’ such as memories, narratives, dreams, etcetera. The psychological material is saturated with ‘absence,’ and Rosenbaum argues why this dimension is important and shows its essentiality in both understanding patients and supporting their psychic development.
In her article ‘Like a river or a silver thread running through the vehement landscapes of reality – Reflections on psychoanalysis and literary theory,’ Linda Sandæk turns the table and asks how finding words for the unconscious in the field of literature can contribute to a deeper psychoanalytic understanding. She helps to answer: What can literature research reveal about psychoanalysis? How can clinical work be clarified when psychoanalysts ‘listen’ to literature?
Jerome Boutinaud and colleagues inform us about the psychoanalytically based treatment forms of ‘psychodrama,’ yet they also demonstrate its creative application in the context of public mental health institutions, an aspect that has specific relevance with respect to the treatment options offered by the public health sector in Sweden for patients seeking help with mental illness. The authors provide a comprehensive overview of the theoretical underpinnings and different variants of psychodrama. Two clinical vignettes are used to help elucidate clinical work with this fascinating method.
Cordelia Schmidt-Hellerau, a training and supervising analyst at the Swiss Psychoanalytic Society, writes about a metapsychological approach that can help clinicians better understand the role of aggression in suicidal processes. By combining an economic with a quantitative perspective, Schmidt-Hellerau impressively describes how a patient’s failure to desperately reach an unreachable object contributes to a ‘breakdown’ of containing functions of the psychic structure of suicidal patients.
Christina Riva Crugnola’s article addresses the question of how to apply psychoanalysis or psychodynamic therapy to patients in the specific life stage of ‘emerging adulthood.’ Emerging adulthood describes a phase of life characterized, for example, by ‘unstable’ identities and a ‘fragile self’ that is different from adolescence and adulthood. Crugnola develops a psychoanalytic approach tailor-made for emerging adults that focuses on an individual’s resources. She goes on to develop relational models that support the developing self. The authors as an additional variant to the widening scope of applied psychoanalytic and psychodynamic treatments.
Henrik Enckell contrasts two models of masochism, one focusing on whether reflective function capacities have been developed or not (described as the ‘function model’) versus a ‘representation model’ which focuses on available inner representations. Both perspectives result in different theoretical conceptualizations of masochism and different psychotherapeutic techniques that Enckell illustrates with clinical cases and thorough discussion. Although there are significant differences between the two models, a common problem is identified by Enckell: the avoidance of or difficulty of dealing with vulnerability. The clinical implications of Enckell’s broader conceptual approach are highly relevant and useful for a better understanding of the psychodynamic conflicts experienced by these patients.
Finally, Johan Eriksson contributes a theoretical text in which he discusses the importance of learning through experience for the psychoanalytic process. The challenge in psychoanalysis is - according to Eriksson - helping patients to go through experiences that had earlier been avoided. By facing the heretofore avoided, patients stand to become more ‘psychologically experienced’, which may have positive impacts on the psychotherapeutic process. With the help of the perennial philosophies of Hegel, Heidegger, and Gadamer, Eriksson thoroughly examines the conditions and preconditions of the phenomenon of ‘experiencing.’
I wish you a good and enriching reading experience, and I hope – as the former Editor-in-Chief Maj-Britt Winberg would write – that you will soon read a new editor’s reflection.