Becoming, Dreaming and Transforming: A Kleinian/Bionian Perspective on Intersubjectivity

Presented by Lawrence Brown (USA)

Discussant:  Cynthia Saruk

By registration

Becoming, Dreaming and Transforming: A Kleinian/Bionian Perspective on Intersubjectivity Even though the Kleinian concepts of projective identification and the interlinking of counter-transference and transference are used by many authors to understand how the minds of the patient and analyst interconnect, Kleinian authors have no formalized theory of intersubjectivity. This paper addresses the implicit theory of intersubjectivity in Kleinian and Bionian thought that is characterized by the analyst needing to become the patient’s projection in order to transform it into a shared experience with the patient. This transformation is achieved through processes in the analyst that are akin to dreaming. A clinical example from the analysis of a woman is given to illustrate these ideas.