Anxiety as an Indicator of Initial Transference Resistance and it’s Handling in Intensive Short‐Term Dynamic Psychotherapy

Abstract

The main focus of this article is the handling of initial resistance in the transference, that first of all can appear in the form of anxiety. The article is based on the trial therapy of a moderately resistant patient, who suffers from multiple symptom‐ and character disturbances.

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“…In this context, it appears that the anxiety reaction is central in the response to therapy. Bleuler (1996), in fact, annotates a case where resistance in transference appears in the form of manifest anxiety of the patient in the session.…”

Specificity of technical interventions in Davanloo's intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy: part I

“…Some explanation here is necessary: anxiety in such an initial contact can have a variety of sources. Pictured on a continuum, on the one side lies the anxiety of a patient who is generally an anxious person on the other end lies the anxiety of the patient who has`ready made transference feelings' and whose anxiety therefore is triggered directly by feelings for the therapist (Davanloo, 1988b,c;Bleuler, 1996;Gaillard, 1989;Worchel, 1986). In most patients, initial anxiety stems from a mixture of sources.…”

“…This inability to differentiate is in the service of the resistance, which brings up another aspect of the specificity: when the pathogenic organization of the unconscious contains murderous or primitive murderous rage then the anger is a tactical defense against the rage, violent rage, and the rage by itself is a tactical defense against murderous or primitive murderous rage. It is on that basis that when the therapist exerts pressure toward the feelings, or pressure for the actual experience of anger, unconscious response is mobilization of anxiety and mobilization of the tactical organization of the major resistance against the primitive murderous rage and intense guilt (Davanloo, 1990b;Bleuler, 1996;Lachenmeier, 1993;Schubmehl, 1996).…”