Repetition/rupture/repair
The enthusiasm and scholarly presentations of the New York Forum of the International Federation of Psychoanalytic Societies, co-hosted by the Postgraduate Psychoanalytic Society and the William Alanson White Society, on May 12–15, 2016, are reflected in two plenary sessions presented in this issue. These two plenary sessions, “The lone terrorist” and “Art and terrorism: Transformations of trauma,” capture both the theoretical and transformative communication that is reparative in traumatic experience. We experience not only the unfolding of repetition and repair in the psychoanalytic process, but also rupture and repair.
In “The lone terrorist” plenary session, the papers by Klaus Hoffman, Siri Gullestad, and Manya Steinkoler, with Frank Lachmann's erudite reflections on the lone terrorist, whether from Germany, Norway, or the USA, provide us with a window into the soul of these violent individuals. Frank Lachmann reminds us to question whether a lone terrorist is a terrorist, or whether their behavior is terrifying to society. The concepts of reactive aggression as a violent reaction to hurt, and eruptive aggression as a violation of expectations, sensitizes the reader to the contempt, narcissistic rage, and lack of self -cohesion evident in these “case profiles.” As a person matures, hopefully one is able to face the world and experience growth towards maturity. Each of these papers reflects how the mental health system failed these “lone terrorists” in childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood, and contributed to their inability to tolerate being in society for one more moment.
The plenary session, “Art and terrorism: Transformations of trauma,” with introductory remarks by Margaret Black Mitchell on the papers of Donna Bassin, Ian Miller, and Billy Pivnick, provides us with insight into the critical and comforting role that artistic endeavors play in the face of traumatic experiences. The varieties of artistic expression evident in these papers, whether literary, artistic, or architectural, reflect the exquisite sensitivities to the pain and suffering inflicted upon the human psyche in times of violent and terrifying attacks of war or terrorist activity.
In addition, to reflect the transformation of terrorist acts, the program brochure of the XIXth Forum depicted on its front cover the Freedom Tower that was built upon the sixteen acres where the “Twin Towers” imploded on 9/11. On the back cover was one of the two 9/11 Memorial Pools with its continuous cascading waterfall. Both Memorial Pools were placed in the footprint of the Twin Towers. These photographs were taken by psychoanalyst/photographer Edith Gould, a guest editor of the articles that form the monograph issues Parts I and II from the XIX IFPS Forum.
Through artistic expression, intuitive access to the unconscious is evident, and there is a working-through of both pleasurable and painful affects. The photographs of the Freedom Tower and the 9/11 Memorial Pool reflect a sense of mastery of transformation and rebuilding from the tragedy of the terrorist attack. Another vehicle to access the working-through of intolerable affects that gives expression to unimaginable feelings is the poem Deprived of essential content: An impediment to empathy, by psychoanalyst/poet and guest editor Ona Lindquist.
As psychoanalysts continue the exploration of violence, terrorism, and ameliorative strategies, creative endeavors have the potential to channel maladaptive behavior into adaptive behavior. The co-creative process that unfolds in the patient and analyst narrative highlights how, within the relational matrix, healing begins. As the foundation is laid and the structure is built, the patient can live as unencumbered and independent as the analyst. This transmission towards health is our psychoanalytic art. The papers in this issue hopefully further our understanding of what can go awry developmentally, and how art has transformative power in the working-through of traumatic experience.