Back in the swim of it: autistic withdrawal and the nature of desire expressed in unconscious phantasy

Many autistic young people are consumed by unconscious terror beneath a complex constellation of defences, complicating experiences of autonomy as well as interrelatedness with objects. Clinical material from sessions of psychoanalytic psychotherapy with three autistic young people was examined to explore autistic withdrawal from objects, as well as desires to interrelate. Each of the young people described sensitivity to sound and noise which supported attuning to experiences which may otherwise have been obscured. The young people had diagnoses of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and the clinical material was taken from weekly psychotherapy at a specialist educational provision for young people with diagnoses including autism. One way that the personality thrives and develops is through the identification with objects expressed in phantasies. This paper describes how phantasies of connection and withdrawal were propelled by unconscious desires, which changed the nature and function of projective identification. Adhesive and intrusive means of identifying with the object manifested desires to eradicate free will and separateness, and the associated triumph prevented components such as gratitude from enriching internal capacities. Desire for autonomy within wider interrelatedness interplayed with communicative projective identification linked with emotional growth. The identification styles formed nonlinear trajectories which overlapped. This paper demonstrates the benefits of exploring desires embedded within unconscious phantasies. This is important so as to avoid placing scaffolding over catastrophe when supporting autistic young people who struggle with fear and confusion. The paper advocates for the value of psychoanalytic psychotherapy in the care of autistic young people.