Table Of ContentMETAPSYCHOLOGY FOR
CONTEMPORARY PSYCHOANALYSIS
Metapsychology for Contemporary Psychoanalysis is a complete revision of the theoretical
underpinnings of psychoanalysis and psychodynamic psychotherapy. It seeks to replace
the traditional drive–defence model of Freudian tradition with an information processing
model of the mind. This book argues that the central human need is for self-knowledge,
and that drives are best understood as means towards this end.
RichardSemberabeginswithaclosereadingofFreud’sownmetapsychologicalwritings,
isolating the many unresolved difficulties and inconsistencies which continue to burden
psychoanalyticaltheorytoday.Byreturningtotheactualobservableclinicalphenomenain
theanalyticsituation,itisshownthatanalternativeinterpretationispossiblethateliminates
the theoretical difficulties inquestion. Inthe analytic situation, Sembera argues that clin-
icians do not in fact see individuals struggling against the expression of biological drives,
rather they observe individuals struggling to clarify their experience of themselves in the
presenceoftheanalystandputthisexperienceintowords.Whenthisprocessisformalized
andexpressedintheoreticalterms,itisfoundtoconsistofthreedistinctaspects:objectifica-
tion, imagination, and symbolization. This process as a whole – ascent towards the other,
relationship with the other, disclosure of self in the light of the other – is termed the
dialectical structure of the self. It is conceptualized as the main accomplishment of the core
mentalprocess,theprocessofcontextualization.
Thisworkisdistinguishedfromotherattemptsattheoreticalrevisionbyitsfundamental
commitment to coherence and clarity as well as its determination to challenge accepted
psychoanalyticdogma.Itarguesforthecompleteirrelevanceofbiologyandneuroscienceto
thepsychoanalyticenterpriseandrejectsthetheoryofdrivesinitsentirety.Insteaditaffirms
thecentralityofthetraumaticresponsetomentalfunctioning,emphasisesthesocialmatrixin
which drives are embedded, re-examines the concepts of free will, accountability, and
responsibility,andconcludeswithanattempttounderstandwakinglifeasacreativeproduct
analogoustotheluciddream.
Drawing on major psychoanalytic thinkers including Bollas and Benjamin, and
current philosophy of mind, this book provides readers with a clear, updated model of
metapsychology. Metapsychology for Contemporary Psychoanalysis will appeal to psycho-
analystsandpsychotherapists,aswellasphilosophyscholarsandanyonewithaninterest
in the philosophy of psychoanalysis.
RichardSemberaisaRegisteredPsychotherapistandaCanadianCertifiedCounsellor.He
isalsoaTrainingCandidateoftheCanadianInstituteofPsychoanalysis(QuébecEnglish).He
presentlyworksintheareaofpsychosocialemergencypreparednessandresponse.
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METAPSYCHOLOGY FOR
CONTEMPORARY
PSYCHOANALYSIS
Mind, World, and Self
Richard Sembera
K ~~o~;J~n~~~up
ORKYOR LLONODONNLODNDOONN
Y
LONDONANDNEWYORK
Firstpublished2017
byRoutledge
2ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,OxonOX144RN
andbyRoutledge
711ThirdAvenue,NewYork,NY10017
RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylor&FrancisGroup,aninformabusiness
©2017RichardSembera
TherightofRichardSemberatobeidentifiedasauthorofthisworkhasbeen
assertedbyhiminaccordancewithsections77and78oftheCopyright,Designs
andPatentsAct1988.
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedorreproducedor
utilisedinanyformorbyanyelectronic,mechanical,orothermeans,now
knownorhereafterinvented,includingphotocopyingandrecording,orinany
informationstorageorretrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthe
publishers.
Trademarknotice:Productorcorporatenamesmaybetrademarksorregistered
trademarks,andareusedonlyforidentificationandexplanationwithoutintentto
infringe.
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ISBN:978-1-138-24221-0(hbk)
ISBN:978-1-138-24222-7(pbk)
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TypesetinBembo
byTaylor&FrancisBooks
Therefore for the man who is guided by reason, the final goal, that is, the highest
Desirewherebyhestrivestocontrolalltheothers,isthatbywhichheisbroughtto
anadequateconceptionofhimselfandofallthingsthatcanfallwithinthescopeof
hisunderstanding.
(BaruchSpinoza,Ethics PartIV,Appendix,para.4)
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction 1
1 What is metapsychology? 10
2 Theories and fantasies 18
3 The practical uses of metapsychology 27
4 A description of the analytic situation 34
5 What are resistance and defence? 51
6 The function of the core mental process 60
7 The place of the unconscious 68
8 The revised structural model 76
9 Primary and secondary experience 86
10 The work of objectification 96
11 The work of imagination 105
12 The work of symbolization 116
13 The dialectical structure of the self 125
14 Where do we think? 138
viii Contents
15 Repetition and trauma 151
16 The motor of the mind 161
17 From metapsychology to metaphysics 170
18 Where do we live? 181
Epilogue 192
Selective Index 193
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The cover image is of a painting by Rosemary Carson, titled A Walk Down the
Corridor (Banstead Hospital), oil on board, 18 (cid:1) 20 ins. Image courtesy of Henry
Boxer Gallery, London, http://www.outsiderart.co.uk/carson.html.
The epigraph at the start of this book is taken from Baruch Spinoza (1992). The
Ethics. Treatise onthe Emendation of theIntellect.Selected Letters (S. Feldman,Ed., &S.
Shirley, Trans.), Indianapolis and Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company (Part
IV, Appendix, para. 4; p. 196). Reprinted by permission of Hackett Publishing
Company, Inc.
