September 11th Revisited: “Break on Through to the Other Side!!”

ABSTRACT

In his discussion of Gentile’s and Togashi’s Plenary papers, the author explains how they are initially destabilizing, but ultimately reorienting and profoundly hopeful for us in these threatening, uncertain times. He reviews the arguments that the papers present, explores how they are challenging to him as a representative of a 1960’s liberal, Self Psychological perspective and illustrates how they can be applied to clinical work.

KEYWORDS:

• Accommodation
• breakdown
• destruction and survival
• surrender
• twinship

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Peter Kaufmann

Peter Kaufmann, PhD. Is faculty and supervisor at the Institute for the Study of Subjectivity in New York City as well as the co-director of the IPSS four-year, psychoanalytic program. He also is faculty and supervisor at the National Institute for the psychotherapies. He teaches courses and writes papers about comparative psychoanalysis and efforts to integrate different theoretical-clinical perspectives.