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Article

The Inevitability of Unconscious Engagements and the Desire to Avoid Them: A Commentary on Stuthridge

Pages 257-264
Published online: 28 Dec 2017
 
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In this commentary the author discusses and develops some points from Stuthridge's (2012) presentation about trauma, dissociation, enactments, and therapeutic action. The enduring impact of trauma and its relationship to the absence of an attuned other to ameliorate the experience is described. The nature of enactments is considered and a distinction is made between enactments and projective identification. The author also describes how clients and therapists can jointly defend against experiencing an enactment through the therapist's rescue fantasy. The article concludes with a brief examination of therapeutic action.

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Ray Little

Ray Little, Certified Transactional Analyst (psychotherapy), UKCP-registered psychotherapist, works as a psychotherapist with adults in private practice in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. He has been working with individuals, couples, and groups for over 25 years. In addition, he facilitates supervision groups and professional development seminars in both Edinburgh and London. Ray is also a visiting tutor at training institutes in Madrid, London, and Ljubljana. He is currently interested in incorporating psychodynamic concepts into a relational transactional analysis, with particular emphasis on working with primitive states of mind. Ray can be reached at 4/2 Oxford St., Edinburgh, EH8 9PJ, United Kingdom; Web site: www.enderbyassociates.co.uk.
 

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