Working with Masochism

This workshop examines both theoretical and clinical understandings of masochism. Drawing on Freud's revisionary account of the death drive and primary masochism in Beyond the Pleasure Principle, and on Lacan's reworking of Freud's Oedipus complex through the paternal metaphor, disavowal, alienation, and separation, we develop a rigorous account of masochistic structure. Central to this account is the mechanism of disavowal (Verleugnung), the role of the voice, and the masochist's distinctive position as playing the role of object a or object-cause of the Other's jouissance. Correspondingly, we will highlight the key elements necessary to make differential diagnostic decisions, especially the differences between hysteria and masochism. Key to this will be our presentation of the perverse fundamental fantasy (a ◊ Ⱥ) and its clinical implications and considerations pertaining to different sub-structures of perversion.

The second half of the workshop presents a detailed case study of a masochistic analysand, illuminating the distinctive challenges masochism poses for the analytic process. Because the masochist structurally positions himself as the object-cause of the Other's jouissance, the analyst is at particular risk of being drawn into the role of jouissance partner — enacting the very scenario the analysand stages rather than maintaining the desire of the analyst. Clinical material will illustrate how to recognize and navigate such pressures, including the specific transference configurations of the sujet-supposé-savoir and the sujet-supposé-de-Non!, the indispensable function of scansion and the cut in interrupting symptomatic jouissance, and the cultivation of non-enjoyable—versus enjoyable—shame as a vector of subjective transformation. The workshop combines presentation, clinical discussion, and open-ended exchange with participants.

Continuing Education Credits (CEs): No.