relational psychoanalysis Relational psychoanalysis is a school of psychoanalysis in the United States that emphasizes the role of real and imagined relationships with others in mental disorder and psychotherapy. 'Relational psychoanalysis is a relatively new and evolving ...

, the term enactment is used to describe the non-reflecting playing out of a mental scenario, rather than verbally describing the associated thoughts and feelings. The term was first introduced by Theodore Jacobs (1986) to describe the re-actualization of unsymbolized and

unconscious Unconscious may refer to: Physiology * Unconsciousness, the lack of consciousness or responsiveness to people and other environmental stimuli Psychology * Unconscious mind, the mind operating well outside the attention of the conscious mind a ...

emotional experiences involved in the relationship between the patient and the

therapist A therapist is a person who offers any kinds of therapy. Therapists are trained professionals in the field of any types of services like psychologists, social workers, counselors, etc. They are helpful in counseling individuals for various mental ...

. More precisely, Jacobs refers to the countertransference enactment, highlighting the implications of the personality characteristics, affective frame, representations and analyst's conflicts for the patient and the interactional behaviour. In relational psychoanalysis, the concept of enactment is usually used to explain the re–experience of a role assumed during childhood, which is recited on the stage of the analyst's consulting room. The analyst is given a specific role to play, and in this context both the patient and the analyst lose their sense of distance, interacting with each other verbally and non–verbally to create intra-psychic dynamics in the form of interactions within the therapeutic setting. According to relational theorists, though enactments are unconscious patterns of dyadic interactions to which both the analyst and the patient contribute, they are generally considered to be initiated by the patient. In the perspective of relational psychoanalysis, the central aspect of therapeutic change is given by the liberation of the patient and the analyst from the repetitive unconscious patterns due to the reflective awareness' acquisition of the relational interchange and the contribution of both parties. Traumatized patients tend to bond with their therapists not so much through words as through enactments, expressing unconsciously—by the action—the

dissociated Dissociation in chemistry is a general process in which molecules (or ionic compounds such as salts, or complexes) separate or split into other things such as atoms, ions, or radicals, usually in a reversible manner. For instance, when an acid ...

aspects of the self and the

object Object may refer to: General meanings * Object (philosophy), a thing, being, or concept ** Object (abstract), an object which does not exist at any particular time or place ** Physical object, an identifiable collection of matter * Goal, an a ...

representation.Cesare Albasi (2006), ''Attaccamenti traumatici''. UTET Università, Novara.

Notes

References

* {{refend Relational psychoanalysis Psychodynamics