ABSTRACT

As an epilogue to this second pathway, a fleeting moment of recovery appeared in conjunction with a countertransference enactment, thus depicting the nonlinearity inherent in psychic transformation. These two pathways towards the transformation of traumatic moments, intriguing as they are, raise a host of questions when generalizing beyond the confines of the severely traumatized patient. This chapter focuses on the tracking of critical psychic events and their sequelae within the context of a ten-year period of psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Through the evolving transference, Ms K developed the capacity to establish a libidinal connection to her analyst, which in turn became a vehicle for the transformation of her dread of deadness into symbolized and reflective forms. A series of dreams about kittens, occurring during distinct phases of the treatment, portray this transformation. This first phase of Ms K's psychotherapy involved the transformation of Annihilation Anxiety in the direction of a desymbolized, regressive transference.