Catastrophe and creativity: from fragmentation to emergence

Authors

  • Judy K. Eekhoff

Keywords:

Trauma, Catastrophe, Truth, Undifferentiation, Atomization, Somatic defenses

Abstract

This paper follows Ferenczi’s lead into the primordial, exploring a search for truth, that if it is successful will result in both a catastrophic loss and a creative gain. In entering the primordial, Ferenczi takes us into experiences of undifferentiation that bring us to the very origins of a self. According to Ferenczi, familiarity with the primordial never leaves us, but rests silently in our bodies, as background to the truth. We access it in moments of beauty discovered in art, poetry, music or sexuality. Truth and beauty go together and cannot be separated. We also access truth in moments of loss. Unfortunately, truth can be attacked and with disastrous consequences as we know from the years when Ferenczi’s ideas were banned from psychoanalytic discussion. Attacks on truth are as catastrophic as is truth itself. Clinical examples are given.

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Author Biography

Judy K. Eekhoff

PhD. Membro da International Psychoanalytical Association (IPA). Psicanalista docente e supervisora clínica certificada pela IPA e psicóloga infantil licenciada. É membro pleno do corpo docente da Northwestern Psychoanalytic Society & Institute e da Seattle Psychoanalytic Society & Institute. Tem um consultório particular em Seattle, Washington, EUA, onde ensina, escreve e atende. É autora de muitos artigos e capítulos de livros. Alguns dos seus trabalhos foram traduzidos para o alemão, francês, espanhol, português e russo. Já publicou dois livros: Trauma and primitive mental states: an object relations perspective (2019) e Bion and primitive mental states: trauma and the symbiotic link (2021). O seu terceiro livro, Bion’s emotional links: love, hate, and knowledge, será publicado pela Routledge. Faz parte do Conselho Editorial do American Journal of Psychoanalysis.

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Published

2025-03-11

How to Cite

K. Eekhoff, J. (2025). Catastrophe and creativity: from fragmentation to emergence . SPPA Journal of Psychoanalysis, 32(1). Retrieved from https://revista.sppa.org.br/RPdaSPPA/article/view/1227

Issue

Vol. 32 No. 1 (2025): Trauma e sobrevivência psíquica

Section

Artigos

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Atribuyo los derechos de autor que me pertenecen, sobre este trabajo, a SPPA, que podrá utilizarlo y publicarlo por los medios que considere oportunos, incluso en Internet o en cualquier otro tratamiento informático.