The Absence of the Third and Murderous Dyads by Andrea Celenza at the American Institute for Psychoanalysis

THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR PSYCHOANALYSIS
Of the Karen Horney Psychoanalytic Center
329 East 62nd Street, New York, NY 10065
212-838-8044  www.aipnyc.org

SCIENTIFIC MEETING
Thursday, January 15, 2009 at 8:00 PM

The Absence of the Third and Murderous Dyads
Andrea Celenza

This paper explores multiple factors in the development of male to female erotic transference over time.  Vignettes from an ongoing psychoanalysis with a patient, Michael, are presented to illustrate the various dimensions of a male to female erotic transference at different phases of the treatment.  Multiple levels of Michael’s erotic transference are examined in relation to power, the experience and expression of aggression, and how these may be organized by gender.  The pivotal phase of treatment, revolving around a fantasy of murdering the analyst, will be a special focus. 

The female analyst’s countertransference is discussed as potentially fostering or inhibitory in the development of an erotic transference.  It is suggested that the maternal containing transference can be unconsciously fostered by both analyst and analysand to defensively avoid expression of the aggressivized erotic transference in its full intensity.  The function of several  ‘thirds’ including consultants and the outside professional community  is discussed in relation to the insularity of the treatment dyad as a way to contextualize and restabilize the treatment process.

——————————————————————————————————————-
Andrea Celenza, Ph.D. is an Assistant Clinical Professor at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Celenza has consulted with, evaluated, supervised or treated over 70 cases of therapist-patient sexual misconduct. She has authored and presented numerous papers on therapists who have engaged in sexual misconduct with a focus on training, supervisory and rehabilitation issues. She is consultant to professional licensing boards, professional organizations and institutes as well as the Episcopal Diocese and other clerical organizations. Dr. Celenza is a member of the Committee on Psychoanalytic Education (COPE) of the American Psychoanalytic Association, a study group focusing on boundaries. She is on the faculty at the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute and Massachusetts Institute of Psychoanalysis.

In 2006, Dr. Celenza was the recipient of the Karl A. Menninger Memorial Award and the Felix and Helena Deutsch Prize for her paper, “The Threat of Male to Female Erotic Transference.”   In 2007, Dr. Celenza and co-author Christopher Fowler won Honorable Mention, Phyllis W. Meadow Award, for excellence in psychoanalytic writing for their paper, “Altering Psychotic Process: A Case Study of Psychoanalytic Interventions with a Schizophrenic Patient”.  She is in private practice in Lexington, Massachusetts. She has published over 30 articles, book chapters and reviews and her most recent book is:”Sexual Boundary Violations: Therapeutic, Academic, and Supervisory Contexts” published by Jason Aronson, 2007

For further information you can go to Dr. Celenza’s website at: http://www.andreacelenza.com/