Thursday, February 21

Early Bird Open Sessions

7:15-8:15 A.M.

Session 203

The Abject Self: Abjection as an Enactment of Powerlessness

Presenter:         

Kathleen Adams, Ph.D., CGP, Private Practice, Austin, Texas

Whereas the borderline patient attempts to control the object, the abject individual attempts to control suffering by converting passive experience into active enactment of rejection, horror, impossibility and worthlessness. Abjection triggers reactions of revulsion and distancing that can be usefully transformed into more helpful forms of relatedness in groups.

Learning Objectives:

The attendee will be able to:

1. Identify enactments of abjection.
2. Choose therapeutic strategies that interrupt abjection.
3. Discuss the phobia of dependency that traumatized individuals exhibit.
 

Course References:

1. Adams, K. (2006) Falling forever: The price of chronic shock. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 56 (2), pp. 127-172.
2. Kristeva, J. (1982). The Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection, Columbia University Press, New York.
3. Steele, K., van der Hart, O., and Nijenhuis, E.(2001) Dependency in the treatment of complex posttraumatic stress disorder and dissociative disorders. Journal of Trauma and Dissociation, 2(4), 79-116.