Profound Silence

Silence is a part of every analysis and when it is very extensive it highlights important technical and theoretical aspects of our work. Long silences in analysis can be extremely challenging for the analyst eliciting feelings of anxiety, helplessness, rage, and confusion. This communication focuses on the technical ramifications of understanding silence not only as a defense but as a communication, a play signature, much as we would the play of a younger child. I will explore these issues in the context of the analysis of an adolescent girl where our work involved years of silence.