Battling the Life and Death Forces of Sadomasochism: Clinical Perspectives

319 Pages·2013·0.79 MB·English

by  Harriet I. Basseches

BATTLING THE LIFE AND DEATH
FORCES OF SADOMASOCHISM

BATTLING THE LIFE
AND DEATH FORCES
OF SADOMASOCHISM
Clinical Perspectives
Edited by
Harriet I. Basseches, Paula L. Ellman
and Nancy R. Goodman
First published in 2013 by
Karnac Books Ltd
118 Finchley Road
London NW3 5HT
Copyright © 2013 to Harriet I. Basseches, Paula L. Ellman and Nancy R.
Goodman for the edited collection, and to the individual authors for their
contributions.
The rights of the contributors to be identified as the authors of this work have
been asserted in accordance with §§ 77 and 78 of the Copyright Design and
Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written
permission of the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A C.I.P. for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN-13: 978-1-85575-820-9
Typeset by V Publishing Solutions Pvt Ltd., Chennai, India
Printed in Great Britain
www.karnacbooks.com
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ix
ABOUT THE EDITORS AND CONTRIBUTORS xiii
SERIES EDITOR’S PREFACE xix
CHAPTER ONE
Introduction to sadomasochism in the clinical realm 1
Harriet I. Basseches, Paula L. Ellman and Nancy R. Goodman
CHAPTER TWO
Intersecting forces and development of sadomasochism 15
Paula L. Ellman and Nancy R. Goodman
PART I: CASE PRESENTED BY
PAULA L. ELLMAN AND DISCUSSIONS
CHAPTER THREE
Sadomasochism in work and play with Diane 29
Paula L. Ellman
v
vi CONTENTS
CHAPTER FOUR
Discussion of the case of Diane 45
Alan Bass
CHAPTER FIVE
Discussion of the case of Diane 63
Jack Novick and Kerry Kelly Novick
CHAPTER SIX
Diane vs. reality: unconscious fantasies at impasse?
discussion of the case of Diane 79
Marianne Robinson
PART II: CASE PRESENTED BY NANCY R. GOODMAN
AND DISCUSSIONS
CHAPTER SEVEN
Sailing with Mr. B through waters of “hurting love” 95
Nancy R. Goodman
CHAPTER EIGHT
Discussion of the case of Mr. B 111
James S. Grotstein
CHAPTER NINE
Discussion of the case of Mr. B 123
Margaret Ann Hanly
CHAPTER TEN
Discussion of the case of Mr. B 137
Terrence McBride
PART III: CASE PRESENTED BY ANDREA GREENMAN
AND DISCUSSIONS
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Eating for emptiness, eating to kill:
sadomasochism in a woman with bulimia 157
Andrea Greenman
CONTENTS vii
CHAPTER TWELVE
Discussion of the case of Mariah 179
Steven Ellman
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Discussion of the case of Mariah 197
Shelley Rockwell
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Trauma, archaic superego, and sadomasochism: discussion
of the case of Mariah 213
Léon Wurmser
PART IV: CASE PRESENTED BY RICHARD REICHBART
AND DISCUSSIONS
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The primitive superego of Mr. A: sadistic revenge fantasies,
arousal and then masochistic remorse 229
Richard Reichbart
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Discussion of the case of Mr. A 247
Sheldon Bach
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Discussion of the case of Mr. A 255
Harriet I. Basseches
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Sadomasochism and aggression—clinical theory: discussion
of the case of Mr. A 273
Leo Rangell
INDEX 289

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to thank all of our contributors who have given to us
and our book so generously. You have truly opened the world of sado-
masochism to view with honesty and thought. We are grateful to CIPS,
The Confederation of Independent Psychoanalytic Societies, for grant-
ing us opportunities for our continual professional growth, especially
this wonderful book series: The CIPS book series, “The Boundaries of
Psychoanalysis”. Thanks especially to Rick Perlman for his leadership.
We are so thankful to the New York Freudian Society (now the Con-
temporary Freudian Society) for coming to Washington to train us in
1985 and to support us in untold ways. Our Washington group of the
Contemporary Freudian Society is our mainstay; you join us in our pas-
sion for psychoanalysis. Kerry Malawista and Allan Frosch took time to
read our first drafts and gave invaluable feedback. Our CIPS telephone
study group on Sadomasochism with Diane Dowling, Bonnie Engdahl,
Anita Katz, Judy Ann Kaplan, Judith S. Levy, Terrence McBride, and
Hadassah Ramin gave us encouragement. Thanks to Beth Kalish-Weiss
for writing the biographical material for Leo Rangell.
We thank our publisher, Karnac, for guidance and opportunity.
We are profoundly grateful to our husbands for their unwaver-
ing support and love, Robert Basseches, Douglas Chavis, and Louis
ix