Metaphor and the violent act

Abstract

During the treatment of violent individuals who were, incidentally, highly verbal, the authors noticed that physical assaults were often preceded by the perpetrator' s use of metaphors. It was observed that the linguistic metaphors failed to function as ordinary 'as if' devices and became 'concretised'. When this occurred, the perpetrators resorted to a physical attack. In this paper, the authors argue that the capacity to interconnect (which is considered to be the essence of psychic work) is dependent upon what can be conceptualised as a primary mental 'frame' or 'warp'. Distortion of the warp will, in turn, weaken the 'weaving', or interconnecting function of the ego, which is considered analogous to the interconnecting in linguistic metaphors. Clinical material from the treatment of three violent men (two in psychotherapy and one in analysis) is used to illustrate the hypothesis that the concretised use of metaphor represents a restitutive, but failed attempt to maintain a psychic coherence in the face of an imminent breakdown.

Plying the Steel: a Reconsideration of Surgical Metaphors in Psychoanalysis

“…Here we see evidence of a concretized/foreclosed metaphor in which the identity of analogous experiences (surgery and psychoanalytic therapy) eclipses the difference, resulting in a past reality being presented rather than represented symbolically (Campbell and Enckell 2005;Karlsson 2002). Whereas generative metaphors provide a containing function, "concretised metaphors are perceived as presentations stating a merciless reality; instead of being functioning symbols, concretised metaphors are experienced as immovable facts with which one cannot negotiate" (Campbell and Enckell 2005, p. 802).…”

“…ascribed metaphorical significance by our patients (Arlow 1979;Borbely 1998;Campbell and Enckell 2005;Enckell 1999;Ogden 1997;Rizzuto 2001). Transference and metaphor, notes Arlow (1979), mean the same thing, namely, the transfer or carrying over of meaning from one context to another.…”

Creating mother and baby therapy groups in prison: emotional valuation

“…is best rephrased, as it is usually met with derision and is based on the, often false, assumption that the mother has words for her feelings. A difficulty for offenders is the absence of emotional, descriptive language, which leads to actions instead of thoughts (Campbell, 2005).…”

Reflection in psychoanalysis: On symbols and metaphors

“…As is well known, ‘symbol’ has been a cherished concept in psychoanalysis ever since Freud. ‘Metaphor’ has gained a foothold in our field during only the last two or three decades (see Arlow, 1979; Borberly, 1998; Campbell and Enckell, 2005; Melnick, 1997, Ogden, 1997; Rizzuto, 2001). This paper is a comparison of ‘symbol’ and ‘metaphor’.…”