Foetal trauma, body memory and early infant communication: a case illustration. Issue 5 (26th October 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Merchant, John
• Is Part Of: Journal of analytical psychology. Volume 60:Issue 5(2015:Nov.)
• Page Start: 601
• Page End: 617
• Publication Date: 2015-10-26
• Subjects: Foetal memory -- synchronicity -- pre‐verbal communication -- neuroscience -- transliminality -- reductive analysis -- countertransference; Analyse réductive -- communication préverbale -- contre‐transfert -- mémoire fœtale -- neurosciences -- synchronicité -- transliminarité; fötales Gedächtnis -- Synchronizität -- präverbale Kommunikation -- Neurowissenschaft -- Transliminalität -- reduktive Analyse -- Gegenübertragung; memoria fetale -- sincronicità -- comunicazione pre‐verbale -- neuroscienze -- oltrepassamento dei limiti -- analisi riduttiva -- controtranfert; эмбриональная память -- синхронистичность -- довербальная коммуникация -- нейронаука -- транслиминальность -- редуктивный анализ -- контрперенос; memoria fetal -- sincronicidad -- comunicación pre‐verbal -- neurociencia -- transliminalidad -- análisis reductivo -- contratransferencia; Jungian psychology -- Periodicals; 131.3405
• DOI: 10.1111/1468-5922.12175
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0021-8774

Abstract

Abstract: This paper presents the complex case of a male patient who started life as an unwanted pregnancy and adoptee in an era of socio‐cultural shame and blame. When able to contact his birth mother later in life, he experienced a number of confronting synchronicities as well as visions which he felt were related to failed abortion attempts and to other pre‐ and post‐natal events. The case material lends weight not only to Freud's, Ehrenwald's and FitzHerbert's assertions that the earliest form of mother‐infant communications is telepathic in nature but that this mode of communication can be retained if emotional trauma inhibits normal developmental processes. Contemporary neuroscience research is presented supporting the hypothesis that emotional memory can become imbedded in the psyche/soma of the foetus. Such memory traces can later emerge into imagery and/or words if the traumatic impingement has been substantial enough and if other defensive strategies are in place. Clinical implications are then suggested regarding analysts' attention to the emotional conditions underpinning their patients' conceptions and foetal development; the connection to projective identification components of the countertransference as being aspects of the earliest telepathic mother/infant communication channel and the need for reductive analyses in analyst training programmes.