The impact of boundary violations by a psychoanalytic leader: evidence for an "external topos" of the unconscious

Journal title INTERAZIONI
Author/s Harriet Wolfe
Publishing Year 2019 Issue 2019/2
Language Italian Pages 5 P. 11-15 File size 125 KB
DOI 10.3280/INT2019-002002
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In this short paper, the author ‒ starting from the assumption that "no man is an island" (Done, 1624) and that interactions with an "other"/many "others" determine our unconscious mental functioning ‒ reflects on the link between ethics and the unconscious. The unconscious nature of mental functions ‒ in a complex, non-linear and adaptable perspective ‒ and ethical behavior are at the core of psychoanalytic work. The concept of an "external topos" of the unconscious alerts us to the fact that each pro-fessional and social surround that endures a failure of basic (e.g., ethical) function requires a multi-factorial, multi-level assessment and educative or interpretive interventions that interrupt co-constructed fantasies of absence of responsibility.

Keywords: Interactions, non-linear thinking, ethics, unconscious, external topos.

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Harriet Wolfe, L’impatto della violazione dei confini da parte di un leader psicoanalitico: la prova dell’esistenza di un "topos esterno" dell’inconscio in "INTERAZIONI" 2/2019, pp 11-15, DOI: 10.3280/INT2019-002002