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Transference and the power of suggestion

E effedMember
Ugh.

I was poking around the internet and found a book that details a psychoanalytic case history, co-written by the analyst and client herself. Google books has a preview and I started reading. I guess the crux of what made this particular case special was the amount of self-disclosure this analyst was willing to bring into the therapy.

There are parts of this that I found really disturbing. I'm no prude, but the sexual material that they were bringing to the proceedings (the analyst did not hesitate to call it his and her 'enactment') raised a large 'ick' factor. (I hasten to add, nothing was consummated-- at least according to the book-- lol). I wish I could wash my brain out. I don't even want to link here because I'm afraid it will upset others (or am I just totally overreacting/projecting? I'd be happy to link someone up if there is interest). So anyway. Apparently the therapy ended a triumphant success.

This all got me thinking about the power of suggestion and the role it plays in transference/enactment. When I am aware of some kind of enactment taking place, ie, I've placed T in some kind of role, or I feel I am acting out a role she sees in me, it feels in a way like I am outside of myself, or under some kind of spell or influence. I really hate that. I really hate the feeling that my brain is being fucked with. I struggle to hold on to a sense of reality. T always says, the most important thing is understanding what is going on. I'm like no-- I just want that confusing feeling to go away.

Okay... I've done a pretty good job of sounding like a complete nut case...Sorry!! I'm not even sure there's a question in here. Confused Maybe I'm wondering if therapy works thanks to the power of suggestion (T's)... or is it all really just client stuff coming to the surface?
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catalystcatalystMember
I find there is a lot of power in suggestion in therapy, that's why Ts need to be so careful not to plant seeds. By jumping to conclusions or making assumptions - I see my Ts be VERY careful with this. I've been heavily influenced/brainwashed in a way by my parents and my Ts are very careful not to re-enforce those messages. When I have body memories (I do a lot of somatic work) my Ts don't try to assign what they are about/not about but rather focus on feeling them and clearing them no matter what they may say - we don't really concentrate on what is real/not but what is. Anyway that really helps with the "suggestion" stuff - and mutual re-enactment.

But there are some even small things I will feel like I should or need to do. It's easy to be influenced by people we are close to, or want to be close to. Influence often can and is positive - for example when my Ts respond favorably to stuff. What you may want to look up is the term "Iatrogenesis" which is kind of an interesting concept!! The power of suggestion can go through from psychotherapy also in to other medical fields or relationships.

I think transference in some ways IS like taking suggestions - but it's.... finding our own cues to those perceptions. So we may see suggestions that aren't intentional. Because of my past I frequently worry if my Ts are influencing me, or tying to. It sounds a little paranoid but sometimes I can't tell what is actually reality and I get suspicious - not in a paranoid way but in a confused way Frowner who to trust.

I'm not sure if I'm exactly relating, but I hope I am. I hate the feeling of my 'brain being fucked with' too!!! You don't sound like a complete nutcase! I think this is a great topic Smiler
L lieseMember
(((((EFFED)))))

We all need to stop obsessing about therapy. LOL! Why does it have to be so interesting? So funny, the power of suggestion came up for me since my session on Thursday. I "think" that my T is thinking something about me and every time he mentions a particular thing, I blush as if I'm guilty as charged when it's something that's not particularly relevant to me but I feel guilty about it anyway because I think my T thinks I've guilty of it. Does that make any sense? I know it probably sounds pretty convoluted.

I do have a whacky story from 6th grade. I'm not sure if it exactly fits in here within the theme of the power of suggestion but it might. I had finished my social studies test and was zoning out. My teacher thought I was staring at the girls paper in front of me and she confronted me. I "admitted" to the crime even though I was not looking at the girls paper. And I even elaborated and added some more damaging facts, just for her benefit I suppose. I told her that I was just checking to see if I had the right answers. She gave me a zero and I took it. I never challenged her. Frowner I don't know if that's exactly the power of suggestion but I do have a habit of accepting the mud that people throw at me and even helping to make myself muddier. Frowner One day I will break the chains and get to experience true freedom. Hopefully you will too.

xoxo

Liese
B bltMember
I don't know if it's the power of suggestion exactly, but I think there's often a strong pull to behave according to what other people expect of us. Specifically in therapy I've noticed that newT treats me more like an adult than oldT did, and as a result I FEEL more like an adult with her. I haven't regressed as much as I felt I did with oldT. Very interesting to me...
L lieseMember
(((BLT))))


quote:
I don't know if it's the power of suggestion exactly, but I think there's often a strong pull to behave according to what other people expect of us.



Yes, that's exactly it. I wonder if the two are intertwined somehow.

quote:
Specifically in therapy I've noticed that newT treats me more like an adult than oldT did, and as a result I FEEL more like an adult with her. I haven't regressed as much as I felt I did with oldT.


That's so interesting to me because I just told my T that he was treating me like a child last year and as a result, I felt like a child and had all those feelings of powerlessness that come along with it. New T sounds great!
E effedMember
Now that I have some distance I find myself thinking I was overreacting to that book... what the hell?!

Liese, your story reminds me of one time I was held up at customs in an airport and questioned/searched for 30 minutes... I just looked so freaking guilty to the cop and the subsequent questioning was making me so anxious, causing me to look MORE suspicious... actually I tell that story now as a big joke, but at the time I was sweating bullets... I was so sure I was going to be thrown in jail for something.

'Iatrogenesis'... thanks for that Cat, I was hoping to stump my word-loving beau with that one, but he already knew it Frowner
cocococoMember
quote:
I find there is a lot of power in suggestion in therapy, that's why Ts need to be so careful not to plant seeds. By jumping to conclusions or making assumptions - I see my Ts be VERY careful with this.


Thank you for this Cat, it finally explains to me one of the reasons I've been feeling so frustrated with T about transference. Whenever I bring it up, I am hoping for her to tell me where these feelings are coming from, why I am having them, or at least what I can do about it. But she won't.

She states the same thing every time, something we both agreed on why it makes sense that I feel very attached to her. It's as if she is waiting for me to continue the conversation and tell her what I think it is, but I just feel overwhelmed and confused so I move on to another topic.

I think I can accept this behavior a little more now, because maybe she is just trying to let me form my own conclusions and not influence me by telling me her own thoughts about it.

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