States of Grace: A Relational Context for a Patient's Coming Into Being

In this paper I explore what I am calling a "state of grace." I describe how the convergence of a personal life event that left me more vulnerable-and more available-intersected with my patient Ruth's fortuitous wish to resume a long-terminated treatment. This convergence allowed both...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychoanalytic dialogues 2016-09, Vol.26 (5), p.564-570
Main Author: Dowd, Deborah
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Psychoanalysis
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Summary:In this paper I explore what I am calling a "state of grace." I describe how the convergence of a personal life event that left me more vulnerable-and more available-intersected with my patient Ruth's fortuitous wish to resume a long-terminated treatment. This convergence allowed both my patient and me to repair the impact of early trauma and create a transcendent experience of new growth. The paper narrates how the process that unfolded became the medium through which Ruth, who felt a persistent experience of aloneness, allowed herself to feel, over time, the necessary primal experience of dependency and the subsequent overwhelming experience of basic need.
ISSN:1048-1885
1940-9222
DOI:10.1080/10481885.2016.1214467