Linda Carter

A Jungian contribution to a dynamic systems understanding of disorganized attachment

This panel emerged from shared clinical concerns when working with adult patients whose presentation style was reminiscent of a disorganized (Type D) infant attachment pattern. Psychotherapeutic work with such patients poses complicated transference and countertransference dilemmas which are addressed by all four panellists via theory and clinical vignettes. In common is an interest in contemporary attachment, neuroscience and trauma theories and their relationship to analytical psychology. Intergenerational trauma seems to be a salient factor in the evolution of fragmented and fragmenting interactions that lead to failures in self-coherence and healthy interpersonal relationships. Such early relational trauma is compounded by further episodes of abuse and neglect leading to failure in a core sense of self. These clinicians share how they have integrated theory and practice in order to help dissociated and disorganized patients to transform their dark and extraordinary suffering through implicit and explicit experiences with the analyst into new, life giving patterns of relationship with self and others. The alchemy of transformation, both positive and negative, is evident in the case material presented.

Schizophrenic children's utilization of images and words in performance of cognitive tasks

Hospitalized schizophrenic (N=15) and nonschizophrenic (N=18) youngsters were compared on measures of verbal and imagery development as well as on four paired-associate learning tasks involving combinations of word and picture stimuli pairs. The results showed the schizophrenic group to be similar to the controls on verbal and full-scale intelligence measures but significantly inferior on performance measures. The schizophrenic group also showed a general disadvantage in paired-associate learning, with a trend toward specific differential difficulty with words as stimulus items. Results suggest the presence of nondominant hemisphere deficit in the target group and also provide weak support for theories of dominant hemisphere dysfunction in schizophrenia.