6B WednesdayMarch12 2014 // The Statement
Oedipus and drugs: The history of psychoanalysis in Ann Arbor
by John Bohn
Remember those cartoon Zoloft commer-
cials? A sad white blob mopes around, but, pre-
sumably having taken Zoloft midway through
the commercial, is bouncing around happily in
the end. Abilify, Cymbalta, Prozac. Before the
era of Netflix, I remember being bombarded
with pharmaceutical ads on cable television.
In fact, the pharmaceutical industry spent $27
billion for drug promotions in 2012 alone. Since
the 1980s, the growth of pharmaceuticals has
had a significant impact on clinical practices
and psychiatry units around the world. The
turn to medicine is so common nowadays that
it may come as a surprise to know that other
forms of engaging with mental health are still
available.
One of the known alternatives is psycho-
analysis - often referred to as psychodynamic
psychotherapy, or a more comprehensive psy-
chotherapy. However, the basic assumptions
made in the one-paragraph explanations in
Psychology 101 textbooks and the quick jokes
made about Austrian psychologistcand credited
founder ofPsychoanalysis Sigmund Freud don't
detail the ways in which psychoanalysis can be
valued and beneficialto out mental health.
Caricatures and accusations surrounding
psychoanalysishold some truth in thehistory of
psychoanalysis, reflecting many of the cultural
values of the 20th century society in which it
emerged. However, since its inception, Freud's
successors have taken his groundwork in new,
progressive directions. Feminist psychoana-
lysts Luce Irigaray, Helene Cixous and Julia
Kristeva, during the '70s and '80s, challenged
the psychoanalytic interpretation of women's
psychology, updating the discipline for the
demands of a Second Wave feminist audience.
The rather mocking way in which some
handle psychoanalysis obscures both these
progressive developments, as well as the rich
history the discipline has had in Ann Arbor.
Walking down Washington Street, one may
see a signthat reads "Michigan Psychoanalytic
Institute" and assume it to be the relic of some
fortunately forgotten past.Yet AnnArbor offers
a vibrant community of analysts and scholars
who employ psychoanalysis in their work and
everyday lives, and who see its potential for
understanding human relations and seek to
push back against some of the numerous mis-
conceptions that have emerged during its cen-
tury-long history.
In the 1970s, psychoanalytic practitioners
worked side-by-side their nascent biomedical
partners at the University's Psychiatric depart-
ment. Analysts, like University alum Jean-Paul
Pegeron, a practicing psychoanalyst in the Ann
Arbor area, were trained in both disciplines
during their residency at the University.
"There was no question at the time, at least
in that particular setting, that the two could not
be compatible,"Pegeron said.
In a psychiatric ward where both biomedical
and psychoanalytic disciplines are used, the cli-
nician would determine when medication was
necessary and when long-term psychoanalytic
therapy may be better suited. Pegeron, a certi-
fied prescriber, often provides consultation to
other psychoanalysts in making this decision.
"There's obviously a gray zone," Pegeron
said. "In the less severe cases, you often find
some underlyingemotional issues, maybe some
traumatic experiences and losses which would
kind of tip you off to a more emotional issue."
Pegeron said that though there is a whole
range of depressive symptoms thatcan be diag-
nosed, the issue might be more biological, in
which case it cannot be treated solely through
These factors can be so habitual or common-
place in the life of the patient that they become
difficult to determine where they are and why
they are at play. Examinations of childhood
experiences and past relations, along with pres-
ent issues, work toward uncovering the hidden
ways in which patients' past experiences affect
their present. At the same time, the analyst
seeks to prevent their own sentiments from
influencingthe patients'understanding oftheir
issues.
"It's been said by
an analyst recently,
one who is espe-
cially articulate, that
Freud's greatest dis-
covery was of a new
form of human relat-
edness," Shulman
said. "It is a unique
form of human rela-
tionship that allows
an unfolding of the
self through this
process."
As ideal as the
process sounds,
psychoanalysis has
found difficulties
retaining credibility
in the public eye. In
recent years, a lack
of exposure to the
RUBY WALLAU/Daily process has been
the result of pressure
from insurance companies.
"Most insurances don't cover psychoanaly-
sis," Pegeron said. "They will cover psychother-
apy, usually with a limited number of sessions
even though they claim it's unlimited. And
what they use is medical necessity. In other
words, you have to show that the person is still
having enough disturbances that they require
continued therapy."
The psychoanalytic process, however, never
has a set trajectory. While four to five sessions
a week is typical, patients are free to choose
their ownpace and gradually build momentum.
Even the conclusion of sessions comes from the
patient.
"People begin to talk about, and become
able to think of their psychoanalysis ending,
when they feel that enough of the difficulties
they started with have been resolved and can
be looked back on, and that they can reflect
enough on their own about all that they have
learned about themselves to carry on alone,"
Shulman said.
Pharmaceuticals, however, provide a quick
fix with fewer costs for insurance companies.
Additionally, in the University setting, the
capacity of pharmaceuticals to be tested on
hundreds of subjects with immediate results
makes conducting research simpler than in the
case oflong-term therapies. As a result, the con-
venience of medication has led to fewer practi-
tioners such as Pegeron, who seekto bridge the
two disciplines.
While psychology departments in the
United States have seen a decline in practicing
psychoanalysts, University students can still
gain exposure to the ideas of Freud through a
variety of courses taught in LSA and seminars
and conferences held at the Michigan Psycho-
analytic Institute. Tomoko Masuzawa, profes-
sor of comparative literature and history, and
Andreas Gailus, associate chair and professor
of Germanic languages, have offered such an
opportunitycto varying degrees of success.
"I tend to have a number of classes that
include some Freud texts," Gailus said. "The
first thing people will tell you is, well clearly
isn't he wrong? They always assume that (psy-
choanalysis) has somehow been completely
superseded and that it's now entirely clear that
everything Freud has to say is wrong."
"I usually, as a beginning, say sexuality or
sex in Freud isn't what you think," Masuzawa
said of the way she overcomes many student's
initial mindset.
For Gailus, starting with a work by Freud
on a topic outside sexuality is a rule of thumb.
Mourning and Melancholia, Freud's essay on
depression, has proven to be a popular read
amongstudents.
"(Students) find (the essay) fascinating and
they realize that (Freud) has a way of bringing
into relief the landscape of experience," Gailus
said.
Even in such a negative environment, stu-
dents continue to find many concepts in psy-
choanalysis useful.
Rackham student Shannon Winston, who
founded the University's psychoanalysis read-
ing group, uses Freud's approach to imagina-
tion in her work. Freud, in "The Interpretation
of Dreams," examines the ways in which the
imagination creates associations between
objects that aren't necessarily connected by
ideas, butrather by simpler qualities like shapes
or color. For Winston, this approach becomes a
new way of reading works such as "The Igua-
na" by Italian author Anna Maria Ortese.
"In Ortese's 'The Iguana,' I chart the color
turquoise in its different manifestations," Win-
ston said. "Inthe beginning of her novel, Ortese
mentions the beautiful turquoise of the Medi-
terranean. Then the narrative invokes stones
and the Iguana of the same color. What I'm
tracing are visual and perceptual networks of
color throughout the narrative, which reveal
perceptual resonances with the Sea."
As Freud famously wrote in "Three Theo-
ries of Sexuality," the only abnormal person is
a psychologically normal person. As one in 10
adult Americans suffer from depression today,
according to the Center for Disease Control,
Freud's claim seems to be corroborated. With
the prevalence of depression in many people's
lives, one must wonder what the consequences
are for a culture that largely resorts to one way,
namely medication, in dealing with mental
health and the interior landscape of the mind.
To see the full version, go to
michigandaily.com
the thought bubble
thefashion voyeur: clothing as an expressive tool
BY ADRIENNE ROBERTS
This semester, I'm in an
English class that also counts
as creative expression credit.
This is probably one of the
only classes where you get a
mix of English majors - who
often dress in clothing that
could only be categorized
as "hipster" - and everyone
else, often students in Greek
Life who, well, don't wear
ripped tights, purposefully
ugly sweaters and mom
jeans.
What is interesting is
that this class is filled with
seniors, yet the students
in Greek Life still wear
their letters on sweatshirts,
t-shirts, etc. Add on rain
boots, yoga pants and light
wash jeans for men, and
you have yourself a classic
"Greek Life" look. We often
PHOTO BY RUBY WALLAU
"If I could do anything in the world, I would go out to Borneo tomorrow
and I would just research orangutans and live in the forest, tent everything;
if I could get a hammock it would be perfect. I could sleep up in the trees
with (the orangutans). That would be a dream job, the best thing of my
entire life."
- MEGAN SKRZYPEK, LSA Freshman
hear that freshman year
is the year when students
are making very conscious
efforts to form their own
identities in college through
their appearance - they
wear too much makeup, they
put on pants to go to class
(which seniors would argue
is "trying too hard"), and
they're basically walking
advertisements for whatever
club or group they joined at
Festifall.
I am not so sure if that
theory holds up, though. I
think students use clothing
more than they imagine as
a tool to express who they
are and what they stand for
- even seniors who say they
barely make it out of bed
each morning in time for
class.
On Saturday, air
traffic control lost
track of a plane
traveling from
Malaysia to Beijing
carrying 239
passengers. The
day was spent with
rescue and search
operations to find
missing passengers
over the South
China Sea.
ILLUSTRATION BY MAGGIE MILLER
psychoanalytic therapy.
"Their clock is set a bit lower than most
people, so they might be in therapy for a while
but nothing changes," Pegeron added. "So that
would be an example of why you need to think
about medication; lift enough of the mood and
symptoms that their life hasn't changed yet, so
then they can make use of therapy."
In media, these therapy sessions have
the stereotypical image of the patient lying
on a reclined couch lamenting about their life
while a silent analyst looks on indifferently.
But whatever experiences Woody Allen may
have had, the practitioners of Ann Arbor paint
a differentpicture.
"The invitation we make to our patients
is this: to speak as freely as they can about
whatever comes into their minds," University
alum Michael Shulman, faculty member of
the Michigan Psychoanalytic Institute, said.
"Thoughts may occur that they're not sure they
can or would like to say, but we ask them to do
their best to speak them anyway."
"What psychoanalysts do when we think
we have something useful to say to help our
patients speak more freely about what is
inside," Shulman added. "But there is much
more quiet and listening that develops than in
ordinary conversation."
Through this dialogue, both analyst and
patient seek to understand the unconscious
determining factors that may lead to recurring
problems in relationships and everyday life.
trending
DMITRY LOVETSKY-
Sochi isn't bidding adieu to athletics just
yet. Amid the political crisis in Ukraine only
300 miles away, Russian soil will host 45
countries to compete for 72 gold medals over
10 days.
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-- - - -------- - -- -- ----- - -- - - ------ - --
J
soCHISZABADos cOM
After winning her second gold medal as a
member of the Canadian women's hockey
team in Sochi, Szabados signed with the
men's team Columbus Cottonmouth for the
rest of the season.
--g
In 2024, Mars
might be ready to
welcome its first
set of permanent
human settlers.
Over 200,000
astronauts have
applied to be the
first to take a one-
way trip to Mars
and restart human
life. Training will
begin next year.
- - -Qiiiiiii