giovedì 4 luglio 2013

Psychoanalysis: from the talking cure to the listening cure








In 1895, before the term psychoanalysis was adopted, the verbal therapy offered by Freud was described as talking cure, or chimney sweeping. It was noticed that the very act of talking could alleviate the symptoms by discharging the energy repressed. However, Freud soon realized that the cathartic effect of talking was temporary, if not matched with an adequate listening. Indeed, I propose that the birth of psychoanalysis has been possible because of this shift from talking to listeningListening is probably the term that best sums up and captures the essence of psychoanalysis, and this different emphasis on listening rather than talking is likely what distinguishes psychoanalysis from all other (more recent, but pre-psychoanalytic) therapeutic approaches. But then: what listening? How to listen to the unconscious?