"Working Psychoanalytically and Intra-Somatically with Posttraumatic Dissociative States"
Presented by David Levit, PhD, ABPP, SEP
David Levit's presentation focuses on treatment with patients suffering from early developmental trauma and severe dissociation. He draws upon his training in psychoanalysis and in somatic trauma treatment models that have developed over the past fifty years outside of psychoanalysis. He will discuss and illustrate ways of working with patients’ bodily experiences in a more direct and sustained manner than we are typically accustomed to in psychoanalytic treatment. In this way of working, the body is not only a port of entry but also a central site of therapeutic action. In presenting extensive clinical material, he invokes Ogden’s notion of looking from multiple theoretical vertices. Levit discusses each vignette from the vantage points of holding (as defined by Winnicott) and containing (as defined by Bion). He is not suggesting that we replace or even supplement our psychoanalytic forms of provision. Rather, he illustrates how interweaving approaches from somatic trauma therapies into our clinical work can enhance our capacities to offer that which we offer psychoanalytically, namely, being with and bearing what patients cannot bear, and providing much needed holding and containment. All of this within a context of our continuing efforts to help patients develop their capacity for being present with their traumatic past, rather than being continually haunted by the past in the ongoing present.
Learning Objectives
After attending this scientific meeting, participants will be able:
1. To deepen participants’ understanding of how early developmental trauma and severe dissociation manifest in the clinical encounter, and how these phenomena challenge traditional psychoanalytic technique.
2. To explore how psychoanalytic concepts of holding (Winnicott) and containing (Bion) can be expanded and enriched through the integration of somatically informed trauma interventions, without abandoning core psychoanalytic aims.
3. To cultivate a capacity for working from multiple theoretical vertices (Ogden), enabling clinicians to remain psychoanalytically grounded while incorporating direct attention to bodily experience as a central aspect of therapeutic action.
