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Zur Natur des „Sechsten Sinnes“

Die Gegenübertragung im Kontext der Psychoanalyse und der kognitiven Neurosciences

On the nature of the “sixth sense”. Countertransference in the context of psychoanalysis and the cognitive neurosciences

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Forum der Psychoanalyse Aims and scope

L‘ époque fournit toujours les termes du texte manifeste.

Stets liefert die Epoche die Termini des manifesten Textes (M. Neyraut 1974, S. 21).

Zusammenfassung

Seit Sigmund Freud werden unbewusste Interaktionen vor allem im Rahmen der Übertragung und Gegenübertragung konzeptualisiert. Heutzutage erlauben die Erkenntnisse der kognitiven Neurosciences (kognitive Psychologie, Neurobiologie) eine erweiterte Sichtweise unbewusster mentaler Prozesse, z. B. im Rahmen der subliminalen Wahrnehmung oder unbewussten Informationsverarbeitung. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird ein Modell vorgestellt, wie Gegenübertragungsprozesse sowohl im Kontext der Psychoanalyse wie der kognitiven Neurowissenschaften verstanden werden könnten. Der Grundgedanke dieses Modells lautet, dass der Patient im Rahmen der (unbewussten) Übertragung komplexe soziale Informationen sendet, die der Therapeut sowohl bewusst wie unbewusst wahrnimmt. Die weitere unbewusste Informationsverarbeitung führt zu den bekannten Gegenübertragungsphänomenen, die in bestimmten Affekten, Körpergefühlen, Phantasien oder Handlungsimpulsen bestehen. Die verschiedenen Prozesse der unbewussten Informationsverarbeitung führen dazu, dass die Gegenübertragung sowohl Anteile des Patienten wie des Therapeuten umfasst. Zum Abschluss der Arbeit werden gegenwärtige neurowissenschaftliche Konzepte unbewusster Prozesse auf die Gegenübertragung angewendet und deren unbewusste Natur aus dieser Perspektive diskutiert.

Abstract

Unconscious interactions have been conceptualized since Sigmund Freud, especially within the framework of transference and countertransference,. Nowadays, findings in the cognitive neurosciences (cognitive psychology, neurobiology) allow for a broader view of unconscious mental processes, e.g., in terms of subliminal perception or unconscious information processing. In this paper, a model is presented for understanding countertransference processes in the context of both psychoanalysis and the cognitive neurosciences. The basic concept of this model is that, within the framework of (unconscious) transference, the patient sends complex social information which the therapist perceives both consciously and unconsciously. Further unconscious information processing leads to the known countertransference phenomena, which consist of specific emotions, body feelings, fantasies, or impulses for action, and in some respects facilitate a “sixth sense” on the part of the therapist. The various processes of unconscious information processing lead to a situation in which countertransference includes parts of both the patient and therapist. At the conclusion of the paper, current neuroscientific concepts of unconscious processes are applied to countertransference, and the unconscious nature of countertransference is discussed from this perspective.

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Götzmann, L., Holzapfel, M. Zur Natur des „Sechsten Sinnes“. Forum Psychoanal 19, 116–128 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00451-003-0169-y

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