Introduction to Analytic Listening

Second Year Adult Psychoanalytic Training (APT)
2022-23, 1st Trimester — Fridays, 12:00-1:30pm
Katherine Weissbourd, PhD

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September 16, 2022 — Developing a psychoanalytic stance

What do we mean by free association and free-floating attention? The foundations of psychoanalysis are grounded in the analyst’s commitment to listen deeply to the patient’s thoughts, and to encourage the patient to speak freely. Among other things, analysts listen for changes in the direction of thoughts, gaps and silences, the symbolic use of language and images, and the patient’s level of emotional engagement in the work.

Optional Reading

Busch, F. (2016) Methods of Understanding: Revisions to a Freudian Method. Psychoanalytic Inquiry, 36:548-557

Kris, A.O. (1990) The Analyst’s Stance and the Method of Free Association. Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 45:25-41

Makari, G. & Shapiro, T. (1993) On Psychoanalytic Listening: Language and Unconscious Communication. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 41:991-1020