Enactment in psychotherapy

Journal title PSICOBIETTIVO
Author/s Giuseppe Craparo, Vincenzo David
Publishing Year 2025 Issue 2024/3
Language Italian Pages 13 P. 33-45 File size 172 KB
DOI 10.3280/PSOB2024-003004
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

In the therapeutic relationship, enactment represents an opportunity for the clinician to make contact with the patient’s traumatic memories. To be distinguished from the transference and countertransference relationship, enactment is seen as an enactment in which trauma-related feelings, emotions, thoughts and fantasies create what Bromberg called a “dissociative cocoon”. In addition to the psychic aspects involved in enactment, the authors also emphasise, through the lens of polyvagal theory, the role of the body, arguing that, during enactment, patient and therapist are in a physical condition in which the body is in a state of alertness and protection, rather than one of interaction.

Keywords: Enactment; traumatic memories; dissociation; polyvagal theory;

  1. Bromberg P.M. (1998). Clinica del trauma e della dissociazione. Standing in the Spaces. Milano: Raffaello Cortina Editore 2007.
  2. Bucci W. (2002). The Referential Process, Consciousness, and the Sense of Self. Psychoanalytic Inquiry, 22(5): 766-793. DOI: 10.1080/07351692209349017
  3. Cannon W.B. (1929). Bodily changes in pain, hunger, fear and rage (II ed.). New York: Appleton.
  4. Caretti V., Craparo G. (a cura di) (2008). Trauma e psicopatologia. Un approccio evolutivo-relazionale. Roma: Astrolabio.
  5. Caretti V., Craparo G., Schimmenti A. (a cura di) (2013), Memoria traumatiche e mentalizzazione. Teoria, ricerca e clinica. Roma: Astrolabio.
  6. Chused J.F. (1991). The evocative power of enactment. Journal of the American PsychoanalyticAssociation,39(3):615-640. DOI: 10.1177/000306519103900302
  7. Craig A.D. (2004). Human feelings. Why are some more aware than others? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 8(6): 239-241.
  8. Craparo G. (2016). The role of unrepressed unconscious and repressed unconsciousness in clinical work. In: Craparo G., Mucci C. (a cura di), Unrepressed Unconscious, Implicit Memory, and Clinical Work (pp. 129-151). London: Karnac.
  9. Craparo G. (2017). L’enactment nella relazione terapeutica. Milano: Raffaello Cortina Editore.
  10. Craparo G., Mucci C. (2023). Inconscio non rimosso e memoria implicita. Dialogo tra psicoanalisi e neuroscienze. Firenze: Giunti.
  11. Craparo G., Schimmenti A. (2008). La disregolazione affettiva in adolescenza: studi esplorativi sul ruolo del trauma e della dissociazione. In: Aa.Vv. (a cura di), Nuove frontiere della ricerca clinica in adolescenza. Roma: Il Pensiero Scientifico.
  12. De Marchi A. (2000). Atto ed enactment. Rivista di Psicoanalisi, 46: 473-483. Filippini S., Ponsi M. (1993). Enactment. Rivista di Psicoanalisi, 39, pp. 501-518. Freud S. (1901). Frammento di un’analisi d’isteria (caso clinico di Dora). In: OSF, vol. 4, Torino: Bollati Boringhieri, 1975.
  13. Freud S. (1914). Ricordare, ripetere e rielaborare. In: OSF, vol. 3, Torino: Bollati Boringhieri, 1978.
  14. Freud S. (1915). Pulsioni e loro destini, In: Opere 1915-1917, vol. 6. Torino: Bollati Boringhieri, 1974.
  15. Freud S. (1922). L’Io e l’Es. In: OSF, vol. 9, Torino: Bollati Boringhieri, 1977.
  16. Frijda N. (1986). The emotions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  17. Greenacre P. (1950). Problemi generali dell’acting out. Testo disponibile su: www. lacan-con-freud.it.
  18. Grotstein J.S. (2007). A Beam of Intense Darkness. Wilfred Bion’s Legacy to Psychoanalysis. London: Karnac Books (trad. it.: Un raggio di intensa oscurità. Milano. Raffaello Cortina Editore, 2010).
  19. Kugler P. (2002). The Alchemy of Discourse: Image, Sound and Psyche. Einsiedeln: Daimon Verlag.
  20. Laplanche J., Pontalis J.B. (1967). Enciclopedia della psicoanalisi, voll. 1-2. RomaBari: Laterza, 2005.
  21. Mucci C. (2020). Corpi Borderline. Milano: Raffaello Cortina Editore.
  22. Ogden P., Minton K., Pain C. (2006). Il Trauma e il corpo. Manuale di Psicoterapia Sensomotoria. Sassari: Istituto di Scienze Cognitive Editore.
  23. Porges S.W. (1995). Orienting in a defensive world: Mammalian modifications of our. A polyvagal theory. Psychophysiology, 32(4): 301-318.
  24. Roughton R.E. (1993). Useful aspects of acting out: Repetition, enactment, and actualization. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 41(2): 443-472. DOI: 10.1177/000306519304100206
  25. Schore A.N. (2003). I disturbi del sé. La disregolazione degli affetti. Roma: Astrolabio, 2010.
  26. Schore A.N. (2012). La scienza e l’arte della psicoterapia. Sassari: Istituto di scienze cognitive, 2016.
  27. Siegel D. (1999). La mente relazionale. Milano. Raffaello Cortina Editore, 2013.
  28. Sroufe L.A. (1997). Lo sviluppo delle emozioni. I primi anni di vita. Milano: Raffaello Cortina Editore, 2000.
  29. Van der Hart O., Nijenhuis E.R.S., Steele K. (2006). Fantasmi nel Sé. Milano: Raffaello Cortina Editore, 2005.
  30. Van Der Kolk B. (2014). Il corpo accusa il colpo. Milano: Raffaello Cortina Editore, 2015.
  31. Van der Kolk B.A., McFarlane A.C., Van der Hart O. (1996). A general approach to treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder. In: van der Kolk B.A., McFarlane A.C., Weisaeth L. (eds.), Traumatic stress: The effects of overwhelming stress on mind, body, and society (pp. 417-440). New York: Guilford Press.
  32. Van Waning A. (1991). “To be the best or not to be, that is the question…” On enactment, play and acting out. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 72: 539551.

Giuseppe Craparo, Vincenzo David, L’enactment in psicoterapia in "PSICOBIETTIVO" 3/2024, pp 33-45, DOI: 10.3280/PSOB2024-003004