Abstinence or the rule of abstinence is the principle of
analytic reticence and/or frustration within a clinical situation. It is a central feature of
psychoanalytic theory – relating especially to the handling of the
transference
Transference (german: Übertragung) is a phenomenon within psychotherapy in which the "feelings, attitudes, or desires" a person had about one thing are subconsciously projected onto the here-and-now Other. It usually concerns feelings from a ...
in analysis.
As
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies explained as originatin ...
wrote in 1914:
The cure must be carried through in abstinence. I mean by that not physical self-denial alone, nor the denial of every desire....But I want to state the principle that one must permit neediness and yearning to remain as forces favoring work and change.
Later formulations
The validity of the abstinence principle has been rediscovered and reaffirmed in a variety of subsequent analytic traditions.
*
Jacques Lacan re-formulated the principle via the concept of 'analytic
bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
' – the analyst necessarily playing the part of the unresponding dummy to bring the patient's unconscious motivations out into the open.
*
Eric Berne saw analytic frustration as a means of avoiding playing a part in the patient's
life script.
*
R. D. Laing
Ronald David Laing (7 October 1927 – 23 August 1989), usually cited as R. D. Laing, was a Scottish psychiatrist who wrote extensively on mental illnessin particular, the experience of psychosis. Laing's views on the causes and treatment o ...
, in the context of the
false self
The true self (also known as real self, authentic self, original self and vulnerable self) and the false self (also known as fake self, idealized self, superficial self and pseudo self) are a psychological dualism conceptualized by English psychoa ...
saw analytic abstinence operating in opposition to false self collusion: "It is in terms of basic frustration of the self's search for a collusive complement for false identity that Freud's dictum that analysis should be conducted under conditions of maximal frustration takes on its most cogent meaning".
*
D. W. Winnicott in the context of his notion of 'holding' the patient emphasised that understanding through verbal interpretation gave a deeper sense of holding than the physical act, use of which by the therapist could blur the symbolic nature of the analytic space.
Debates
The rule of abstinence has come under increasing challenge by
Interpersonal and
Intersubjective psychoanalysis
The term "intersubjectivity" was introduced to psychoanalysis by George Atwood and Robert Stolorow (1984), who consider it a "meta-theory" of psychoanalysis. Intersubjective psychoanalysis suggests that all interactions must be considered contextua ...
, concerned about the inflexibility of the rule, and the way its relentless application may provoke unnecessary hostility, even an
iatrogenic
Iatrogenesis is the causation of a disease, a harmful complication, or other ill effect by any medical activity, including diagnosis, intervention, error, or negligence. "Iatrogenic", ''Merriam-Webster.com'', Merriam-Webster, Inc., accessed 2 ...
transference neurosis
Transference neurosis is a term that Sigmund Freud introduced in 1914 to describe a new form of the analysand's infantile neurosis that develops during the psychoanalytic process. Based on Dora's case history, Freud suggested that during therap ...
.
Defenders of the rule, against the practice of the warm supportive analyst, argue against the easy seductiveness of being overly 'helpful' in a self-defeating way already sketched out by Freud himself. The concept of optimal responsiveness – balancing frustration and gratification from moment to moment – offers some mediation in the dispute.
[S. Akhtar, ''Comprehensive Dictionary of Psychoanalysis'' (2009) A and O]
See also
References
{{Reflist, 2}
Further reading
* S. Freud, 'Observations on Transference Love' ''Standard Edition'' XII
* J. Lindon, 'Gratification and provision in psychoanalysis: Should we get rid of 'the rule of abstinence'?' ''Psychoanal. Dialogues'' (1994) 4:549-582
External links
AbstinenceAbstinence, rule of
Psychoanalytic theory