Sexual and Aggressive Conflicts in an Adolescent Girl: Discussion of Dr. Alvarez's Case Presentation

Abstract

From the perspective of modern conflict theory, greater emphasis might have been placed on a variety of sexual and aggressive conflicts whose presence were suggested in the material presented by Dr. Alvarez. Included among these possibilities are: conflicts about menarche, guilt-inspired fears of punishment associated with sexual maturation and participation, and with competitive wishes in respect to other women, as well as concerns about genital anatomy and damage. A technical question is also raised about the way the analyst's clinical intuition is employed in response to dreams and symptoms. Finally, it is suggested that analytic attention to somatic symptoms ought to be deployed more cautiously than in the fashion described in this presentation.