A Most Dangerous - and Revolutionary - Method: Sabina Spielrein, Carl Gustav Jung, Sigmund Freud, Otto Gross, and the Birth of Intersubjectivity

Abstract

As the first major commercial film to focus on Jung's role in the early history of (psycho‐)analysis, David Cronenberg's (2011) A Dangerous Method constitutes a milestone in the portrayal of Jung – and his relationship with Freud – in the popular media. The film's subject is a pivotal point in the development of analytical theory and clinical practice, namely the discovery of countertransference, its uses and abuses – a discovery and method which, in turn, led to the birth of intersubjectivity. This article deals with the historical background to the events portrayed in the film, specifically with regard to boundary violations and sexual abuse in analysis, draws distinctions between love relationships and abusive relationships, and indicates the revolutionary aspect of the “dangerous method” of psychoanalysis – and, in doing so, reclaims the influence of Sabina Spielrein and Otto Gross in the history and development of psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic method. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Sexual Dysfunction(s) in Iran: Imaginary Encounters with Otto Gross and Wilhelm Reich

“…He would also suspect that Maryam's intense turmoil was at least partly due to childhood inner strength: “The more intensely and earlier the capacity for resistance begins its protective function against suggestion and intervention, that much more intense and that much sooner the splitting conflict is deepened and exacerbated” (Gross, , p. 258). As one of the earliest advocates of the adage that “the personal is political” (G. Heuer, , p. 274), Gross would trace Maryam's psychosexual problems to patriarchal dominance. In many ways patriarchy becomes more entrenched when it is severed from the soil (as is the case with Maryam's husband, the son of a big rural landlord who nowadays trades mostly with city customers).…”

“…Simply put, “the will to relate” is about the capacity to love, empathise and forgive (B. Heuer, 2011; G. Heuer, ); its focus is intersubjectivity. More theoretically, we can restate “the will to relate” as a synthesis of Stirnerian individualism with communitarian ideology.…”

“…Gross was influenced by Kropotkin's principle of “mutuality in equality” and would attempt to practise this within therapy as part of his “propaganda by example”. Gross would allow Maryam to contribute to a consensual diagnosis and perhaps even exchange roles (G. Heuer, ). Maryam would be encouraged to become a therapist and Gross would become a friend (Cohn, ).…”

“…In the case of Amir, his youthful sadism manifested in the ritualised torture of cats could not find adult sublimation even though, as Reich observed, for some members of the clergy religion functions as a perfect vehicle for sexual sublimation. This may also explain how Amir's sadism easily transformed into masochism and fantasies of self‐flagellation (see Turley, King, & Butt, ), which for Reich was “a secondary drive, a response to a diversion of primary libido” and not a validation of the death instinct, as Freud would have claimed (G. Heuer, ).…”

Editorial

“…The final article in this issue completes not only this issue but also a series of articles introducing the current Associate Editors (see also Fay, ; Heuer, ; House, ; Nwoye, ; Pavón‐Cuéllar, ) and, as further Associate Editors are appointed, I will ask them, in turn, to introduce themselves by means of an article. This one, from Edward Emery, provides an overview of the author's concerns as well as a condensed synopsis of a selection of his previous publications which focus on mourning – at the personal level as well the social, collective level.…”