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Abstract
Looking in depth at the language, both in German and in English translation, that the patient Margarethe Lutz herself uses to describe her one-time encounter with Sigmund Freud, a striking picture of a transformational experience emerges. The picture of what Freud provided to the patient is quite in contrast to his stated stances of abstinence and neutrality. This paper argues that the crucial place of the gaze Freud fixed on Margarethe, a gaze that was not in the least impinging, but rather welcoming, empathic, indeed enveloping, was more significant than any words he said. Freud saw her in her uniqueness, as Winnicott suggested, which gave her a sense that she is a person in her own right with a right to choose her own way.
Acknowledgments
Previous versions of this paper were presented at the annual conference of the Mental Health Services of the Israel Defence Forces, Givat Olga, Israel, December 2015, and at the Counseling Services, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel, July 2016.
Notes
1 Editors’ note: The author of this article is a native German speaker.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Yecheskiel Cohen
Yecheskiel Cohen, PhD, is former Director of the B’nai Brith Children’s Home (Jerusalem Hills Therapeutic Centers), former President and current member of the faculty of the Israel Psychoanalytical Institute, and Co-Director of the Program of Psychotherapy at the School of Social Work, Tel Aviv University.