The analyst’s functioning, receptivity, and ability to find words for what is occurring unconsciously between themselves and their patient, is enhanced when the distinction between two basic types of transformations in hallucinosis can be borne in mind: transformations in positive and in negative hallucinosis. In the Bionian literature, this distinction has not been formally made, although the two forms are described using the general term of transformations in hallucinosis. Meltzer’s description of this process, coupled with André Green’s notion of negative hallucination, can help us make this clinically useful distinction. Transformations in negative hallucinosis dismantles links between experience and meaning, resulting in psychic voids, failures of symbolization, and breakdowns in analytic thinking. Through a detailed discussion of the clinical case of Ms. S, we will explore how transformations in negative hallucinosis emerge within the analytic field, how they affect both patient and analyst, and the technical challenges involved in restoring the capacity to dream, think, and create meaning within the analytic encounter.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this presentation participants will be able:

1. Describe the differences between positive and negative transformations in hallucinosis and their relationship to psychotic and non-psychotic mental functioning.
2. Describe the key theoretical contributions of Bion, Meltzer, and Green to the understanding of hallucinosis, negative hallucination, and the development of thinking.
3. Explain the technical implications of negative hallucinosis in the analytic situation, including its effects on symbolization, reverie, alpha function, and the analyst’s capacity to contain and transform emotional experience.

Rodrigo Barahona, PsyaD, FIPA, FABP

Rodrigo Barahona, PsyaD, FIPA, FABP is a training and supervising analyst at the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute and the Massachusetts Institute for Psychoanalysis. He is on the board of directors at the Psychoanalytic Quarterly, where he is also the Book Review Editor, and serves on the editorial boards of The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, the Psychoanalytic Quarterly, and formerly on the Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association. Rodrigo Barahona, PsyaD, FIPA, FABP has a private psychoanalytic practice in Brookline, Massachusetts.