ABSTRACT
The transition from manic defence to mourning began with David’s wish to visit the place where Avi had committed suicide. It was extremely important for him to see where his son had spent the last moments of his life. The army acceded to his request and David went to the army base. David raised some difficult questions: Why hadn’t anyone noticed what was happening to Avi? Avi’s friend, who was serving together with him, claimed that half an hour before the suicide Avi had begged him to shoot him in the head. How could this friend let him walk away with a loaded gun in his hands, and look for him only upon hearing a shot some thirty minutes later? And how did the army know who had pulled the trigger? Was it possible that somebody was indirectly responsible for Avi’s self-destructive act, that somebody had convinced him to do it? At the end of the session, wishing to explore my notion that he felt he was a criminal, I said, “It seems to me as if you wanted to visit the scene of the crime.” David took a deep breath and said, “Yes, that was the scene of the crime.” Then he got up and said: “The question is—how did I contribute to that crime?”
