Interpretation – amulti-stepprocess

French psychoanalysis

Abstract

In this article, the author comprehensively considers the process of interpretation, dwelling on its various stages. The analyst, listening to the speech of the patient, is able to capture many meanings, while some of them may be inaccessible and hidden. Interpretation links the various layers together, connects the disparate elements of the patient's mental life into a coherent picture. However, not all patients function at a sufficiently good level of mental organization. In this case, the patients' speech is not yet interpretable, and an attempt to interpret it may lead to a desire to refute it, since the interpretations are perceived as false or not good enough, there is also a risk of increasing resistance to any attempts to explore the patient's internal reality and strengthening defenses against the intrusion. In such a case, the interpretation remains in latent state for some time in the analyst's mind and waits in the wings until the patient will be able to accept it.