Psychoanalysis is widely understood as a process of interpreting the past’s hold on the present in order to dislodge rigidified patterns, fortify personality structures, and clarify reality. However, ask anyone to remember their experience in a successful therapy and they will not tell you about insights gained or interpretations applied. Instead, they will narrate moments of lived experience that stand out in memory and tell a story of transformation much larger than the immediate moment. They may tell stories of connection or empathy or humor, stories of grief or vitality, to name just a few possibilities. What makes these moments shine as crystallized memories of transformation? In this paper Aviva Rohde proposes that these moments encapsulate what Peter Zimmermann identifies as the ideal transference paradigm in which therapeutic action takes place: patient leading edge meeting therapist leading edge. Following on Zimmermann’s contribution of the term Generative Transference to refer to the work with the leading edge, this paper proposes calling these crystallized memories of transformation Generative Moments. This paper will offer examples of Generative Moments and propose that we elevate our awareness to such moments as they embody in miniature the larger story of therapeutic action found in progressive selfobject development and shared intersubjective space. Generative Moments tell the story of successful treatment.
Two Continuing Education Credits for NYS social workers, psychoanalysts, and psychologists.
Aviva Rohde
Aviva Rohde, PhD, LP, is a graduate of TRISP where she is a senior faculty member. She is in private practice in New York City where she sees adults, adolescents, and couples. She is a supervisor at TRISP and NIP. In addition she is a co-author of Intersubjective Self Psychology: A Primer (Routledge, 2019).
Peter Zimmermann
Peter B. Zimmermann, PhD, LP, Philosophy, University of Bern, Switzerland, is a Founding Member of TRISP, The Training and Research in Intersubjective Self Psychology Institute in New York, where he is a Member of the Board of Directors, Senior Faculty, Training and Supervising Analyst since 1987. He is the former President of the Training Institute of NPAP (2016-2021) and a Member of the Board of Directors since 2012; he is a Senior Member, Training and Supervising Analyst and Faculty Member at NPAP since1984. He is on the Editorial Board of The Psychoanalytic Review. He is co-editor and contributing author of Intersubjective Self Psychology: A Primer (Routledge 2019), and guest editor and contributing author of the Special Issue of The Psychoanalytic Review on Kohut, Vol 108, Number 2, June 2021. Dr. Zimmermann has been in private practice in New York City since 1978. In addition to working with individuals and couples, he runs private supervision and study groups in Intersubjective Self Psychology.
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