September 2023: "Braving the Erotic Field in the Treatment of Adolescents" presented by Mary Brady, PhD

Despite the centrality of the developing sexual body/mind in adolescence, the psychoanalytic literature on erotic transference and countertransference related to this period is notably sparse. Erotic feelings in the consulting room with adolescents can feel taboo, causing the analyst to avoid the immediacy of these feelings. Excessive timidity on the part of the analyst can limit the growth of the capacity for containment of sexual feelings and yield what Dr. Brady terms "erotic insufficiency.” Dr. Brady will offer clinical material from a period of erotic transference and countertransference with a 12-year-old boy to consider these ideas. She suggests that the very terms ‘erotic transference’ and ‘erotic countertransference’ can feel defensively remote and antiseptic, and that ‘erotic field’ better captures the subtle, nuanced interplay of feelings. Learning Objectives: 1. Participants will be able to discuss the term ‘erotic insufficiency’ in our psychoanalytic treatments. 2. Participants will be able to describe the value of conceptualizing sensitive experiences in a treatment using the concept of the ‘erotic field.’ 3. Participants will be able to discuss the issues particular to the erotic transference in the treatment of adolescents.