Psychoanalytic Studies on Dysphoria: The False Accord in the Divine Symphony

153 Pages·2018·1.78 MB·English

by  Marion Oliner

“Marion Oliner is well positioned to make a significant contribution to the grow-
ing literature on trauma and so called post-traumatic stress disorders. Herself
the victim of severe trauma during the second world war which analysis helped
her overcome, she deepens the understanding of unconscious trans-generational
transmission. She is sensitive to the interplay between real events and their uncon-
scious reverberations. The role of aggression both outwards and self-directed is
elaborated. She follows the changes in recall which follow trauma and adds new
insights on the role of unconscious guilt and omnipotence which modify with time
the representation of trauma. Finally, she adds very perceptive insights to the role
that sleeping and dreaming play in the assimilation of trauma. Mental health pro-
fessionals at all level of training will benefit from this book.”
—Francis Baudry, Training and Supervising Analyst,
New York Psychoanalytic Institute
“An extraordinary collection of psychoanalytic essays by Marion Oliner, written
between 1982 to 2018, is presented in this book. The essays encompass a broad
range of clinical and theoretical topics all of which are indelibly influenced by
both psychic trauma and the reality of external trauma. Quoting Baudelaire ‘I am
the limb and the wheel and the victim and the executioner!’, Oliner describes the
complexities of self and object representations and the external object relations of
many traumatized persons. This book, enriched by the author’s own traumatic life
experience, expands understanding and knowledge, and inspires further reflec-
tion and inquiry.”
—Harold P. Blum, President, Psychoanalytic Research and
Development Fund; Training and Supervising Analyst,
Institute for Psychoanalytic Education, affiliated with
NYU School of Medicine; Former Editor, Journal of
the American Psychoanalytic Association
“In Psychoanalytic Studies on Dysphoria: The False Accord in the Divine Symphony,
Marion Oliner uses a dramatic but evocative line from Baudelaire to title a collec-
tion of her articles, some of which not been available in English before now. They
are all concerned with individuals who react to trauma by attacking and thwarting
themselves. She focuses, among other things, on the distinction between the expe-
rience and the unconscious meaning of the experience to the individual. Her com-
ments are logical and clarifying, particularly when she discusses the importance of
Winnicott’s assertion concerning the megalomania underlying this self-sabotage.”
—Gail S. Reed, Honorary Member, New York Psychoanalytic Society and
Institute; Training Analyst, Contemporary Freudian Society;
Former Member and Training Analyst and Founder,
Berkshire Psychoanalytic Institute

PSYCHOANALYTIC STUDIES
ON DYSPHORIA
Psychoanalytic Studies on Dysphoria: The False Accord in the Divine Symphony
depicts the profound dysphoria afflicting certain individuals, and includes
the author’s own personal experience of this as a German Jewish child dur-
ing the Holocaust. Marion M. Oliner explores the impact of catastrophic
events on the lives of individuals and their descendants from a broadly
psychoanalytic perspective.
The book focuses on the interplay between the experience and the
unconscious meaning attributed to the trauma, and the ways in which
patients may feel guilt, and blame themselves for the events and effects
of their trauma. Drawing on the work of Freud and Winnicott, and with
emphasis on the traumas suffered during the Second World War, Oliner
offers new ways of understanding how resistant to treatment such trau-
mas can be, and how the analyst can understand the experiences. The
chapters span the evolution undergone in the nearly four decades of prac-
tice by the author. The book references a range of works including some
taken from the German and French psychoanalytic literature, some never
published in English. Taken together they aim at keeping the vitality of
psychoanalysis without idealization, while discarding concepts whose
essence is static, and therefore unhelpful.
Psychoanalytic Studies on Dysphoria will appeal to psychoanalysts as
well as other mental health professionals working with self-defeating
behavior as a result of trauma.
Marion M. Oliner is a psychoanalyst in private practice in New York City,
USA. She is a member of the International Psychoanalytic Association,
the National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis and the
Metropolitan Institute for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy.
PSYCHOANALYTIC IDEAS AND APPLICATIONS SERIES
IPA Publications Committee
Gennaro Saragnano (Rome), Chair and General Editor; Leticia Glocer Fiorini (Buenos
Aires), Consultant; Samuel Arbiser (Buenos Aires); Paulo Cesar Sandler (São Paulo);
Christian Seulin (Lyon); Mary Kay O’Neil (Montreal); Gail S. Reed (New York); Catalina
Bronstein (London); Rhoda Bawdekar (London), Ex-officio as Publications Officer; Paul
Crake (London): IPA Executive Director (ex-officio)
Recent titles in the series include:
The Ethical Seduction of the Analytic Situation: The Feminine–Maternal
Origins of Responsibility for the Other
Viviane Chetrit-Vatine
Time for Change: Tracking Transformations in Psychoanalysis—
The Three-Level Model
Edited by Marina Altmann de Litvan
Hostile and Malignant Prejudice: Psychoanalytic Approaches
Edited by Cyril Levitt
Freud and Culture
Eric Smadja
Play, Gender, Therapy: Selected Papers of Eleanor Galenson
Edited by Nellie L. Thompson
Psychopathology of Work: Clinical Observations
Edited by Christophe Dejours
Finding the Body in the Mind: Embodied Memories, Trauma,
and Depression
Marianne Leuzinger-Bohleber
The Future of Psychoanalysis: The Debate about the Training Analyst System
Edited by Peter Zagermann
The Analytical Process: Journeys and Pathways
Thierry Bokanowski
Psychotic Organisation of the Personality: Psychoanalytic Keys
Antonio Perez-Sanchez
Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Virtual Intimacy and Communication in Film
Edited by Andrea Sabbadini, Ilany Kogan and Paola Golinelli
Transformational Processes in Clinical Psychoanalysis: Dreaming,
Emotions and the Present Moment
Lawrence J. Brown
The Psychoanalyst and the Child: From the consultation to
psychoanalytic treatment
Michel Ody
Psychoanalytic Studies on Dysphoria: The False Accord in the Divine Symphony
Marion M. Oliner
PSYCHOANALYTIC
STUDIES ON DYSPHORIA
The False Accord in the
Divine Symphony
Marion M. Oliner
First published 2019
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
 2019 Marion M. Oliner
The right of Marion M. Oliner to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known
or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent
to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Names: Oliner, Marion Michel, author.
Title: Psychoanalytic studies on dysphoria : the false accord in the divine
symphony / Marion Oliner.
Description: Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2019. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018036845 (print) | LCCN 2018038455 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780429779046 (Web PDF) | ISBN 9780429779039 (ePub 3) |
ISBN 9780429779022 ( Mobipocket) | ISBN 9781138360266 (hardback : alk.
paper) | ISBN 9781138360280 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780429432453 (ebk)
Subjects: LCSH: Gender identity disorders—Psychological aspects. |
Psychoanalysis.
Classification: LCC RC560.G45 (ebook) | LCC RC560.G45 O45 2019 (print) |
DDC 616.85/830651—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018036845
ISBN: 978-1-138-36026-6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-36028-0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-43245-3 (ebk)
Typeset in Palatino
by Swales & Willis Ltd, Exeter, Devon, UK
I dedicate this work on self-sacrifice to the memory of
my parents, Jakob and Charlotte Michel; my father who
wanted to be remembered, and my mother who, in 1942,
joined him in almost certain death at the hands of the
Nazis so that my life would be spared. She left me with a
debt for which she asked no compensation: it influenced
me to try to appreciate and enjoy the gift and not to be
burdened by the price she paid.

CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xi
PREFACE xv
SERIES EDITOR’S FOREWORD xix
L’HÉAUTONTIMOROUMÉNOS (THE EXECUTIONER
OF ONESELF) by Charles Baudelaire xxi
Introduction 1
CHAPTER ONE
Hysterical features among children of survivors 11
CHAPTER TWO
The Nazi hunter 35
CHAPTER THREE
On the difficulty of hating one’s enemy 49
ix