Papers by L. Eileen Keller, Ph.D.
Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 2011
A psychoanalytic model of preschool consultation is presented, born of the conviction that psycho... more A psychoanalytic model of preschool consultation is presented, born of the conviction that psychoanalysis has powerful tools with which to tackle some of our most difficult and entrenched community problems. Since trauma is known to impact our ability to think reflectively and symbolically (Fonagy, Moran, and Target 1993), the clinical methods of psychoanalysis-drawing on the ideas of container/contained, the capacity to hold alternate points of view, and the capacity to reflect empathically (here with teachers in the face of their at times harsh and insensitive treatment of students)-are crucial to success in work with cumulatively traumatized staff (Khan 1963). The strongest resistances to consultation arise from an anti-attachment system developed as a result of cumulative trauma and operating at multiple levels in the preschool. Consultation services are organized around an understanding of this anti-attachment system. At various levels of the system, including staff, parents, and children, consultants work to facilitate secure relationships in the preschool setting. These relationships foster recognition of children's emotional complexities and build cooperative links between staff and parents, in an atmosphere that otherwise might often push adults into fearful, self-protective states that interfere with their contact with children's states of mind.
Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic, Feb 1, 1996
Violence against women by their male partners is widespread and infrequently identified as a caus... more Violence against women by their male partners is widespread and infrequently identified as a causal factor in multiple physical and psychological problems of female patients in medical and psychiatric settings. Three main countertransferences that interfere with accurate identification of battered women are described: (1) counter- identification, (2)countertransference rage, and (3) countertransference helplessness. Battering men and battered women are found in all levels of society, although younger, lower income, less-educated men who have observed parental violence in their own home are at higher risk of abusing their spouses. Additionally, antisocial personality disorder, depression, and/or alcohol and drug abuse increase the risk of male violence in the home. Contrary to popular belief, the husband-to-wife violence is usually motivated by his need to control her rather than a result of his loss of control. Battered women show no consistent prebattering risk markers, except for a history of parental violence in their family of origin. Violence against women by their male partners is a serious public health problem that has not been adequately addressed by the medical and psychiatric professions. Myths and clinical realities of battered women are described and detailed recommendations for clinical inquiry and evaluation of level of danger are given.
Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 2013
Wagner's opera The Flying Dutchman, as always, carries complex elements of the human experience, ... more Wagner's opera The Flying Dutchman, as always, carries complex elements of the human experience, including passion, jealousy, avarice, love and longing. In the San Francisco Opera 2013 production, Senta's dream of the Flying Dutchman takes center stage. During the overture, we see her gazing into the portrait of the Dutchman and we feel her dreamy rapture through the music. As I studied the libretto, I began thinking about teenage girls with posters of male icons on their walls, gazed at with the same dreamy rapture Senta shows. Psychoanalysts might interpret these deeply felt though impossible loves as a developmental passage, a way the girl can safely, in fantasy, explore her own emerging sexuality and yearning. The passionately desired and loved idol can safely contain her love for her father, without plunging her too quickly into the real world of developing boys. We can even see in Senta's recognition of her wish to save the Dutchman a wisp of the illusion that she is the special one, the woman who is perfect for him, better than all the other women who have failed him, an allusion that shows to a psychoanalyst, the girls' identification with her mother and also her wish to outdo her mother by realizing in herself the ideal woman for her father. Then we can also observe her position as a girl, tied to hearth and home, with no real scope for her romantic and passionate longings. All of us can identify with the search for true meaning in our lives and this is one of the ways Wagner brings us into sympathy with Senta. All of this we can see in Senta, but I propose there is something more, something that grows beyond a transitional developmental stage of her life into a genuine capacity to submerge her own subjectivity into the others' desperate need. I will describe this more fully below. Early on we learn that Senta, to the dismay of the housekeeper (her mother L e i t m o t i v e figure), languishes in sorrow and pain, thinking of the Dutchman's agony, doomed as he is to sail forever unless the curse is lifted as she gazes into his portrait. The workaday world encircles her but she is absent-minded and in another universe, dreaming of the tragic fate of the Dutchman. Then she begins to sing of him and in a beautiful, lyrical ballad, enchanting her audience with his story. We understand that she is enchanting herself as well as us. we are focusing here on Senta, not the Dutchman's character, his arrogance and grandiosity that landed him in such trouble: later we will touch on the redemption theme embedded in Wagner's retelling of the old legend. Introduced by the powerful and compelling theme of the Dutchman, Senta sings the tragic tale. Her audience is deeply moved, as is she. All bemoan the fate of the Dutchman and Senta is struck with inspiration: she will be the one to rescue him! Here we see her transported by the glorious idea of being the one true woman who can save him from eternal pain. Some have interpreted Senta as being mad. 1 Others might take for granted the sacrifice of a woman to a man. I argue for a fuller understanding of Senta, one that includes a human capacity to transcend the narrow interest of the self at times of great crisis or danger.
Journal of Infant, Child, and Adolescent Psychotherapy, 2008
... In Envy and Gratitude and Other Works 19461963 , New York: MacMillan. View all references). ... more ... In Envy and Gratitude and Other Works 19461963 , New York: MacMillan. View all references). ... The foster girl, Renae, was also struggling with intense feelings of rage and aggression which she expressed violently toward her foster mother (I, too, was not exempt). ...
A psychoanalytic model of preschool consultation is presented, born of the conviction that psycho... more A psychoanalytic model of preschool consultation is presented, born of the conviction that psychoanalysis has powerful tools with which to tackle some of our most difficult and entrenched community problems. Since trauma is known to impact our ability to think reflectively and symbolically (Fonagy, Moran, and Target 1993), the clinical methods of psychoanalysis—drawing on the ideas of container/contained, the capacity to hold alternate
points of view, and the capacity to reflect empathically (here with teachers in the face of their at times harsh and insensitive treatment of students)—are crucial to success in work with cumulatively traumatized staff (Khan,1963). The strongest resistances to consultation arise from an antiattachment
system developed as a result of cumulative trauma and
operating at multiple levels in the preschool. Consultation services are organized around an understanding of this anti-attachment system. At various levels of the system, including staff, parents, and children, consultants work to facilitate secure relationships in the preschool setting. These relationships foster recognition of children’s emotional complexities and build cooperative links between staff and parents, in an atmosphere that otherwise might often push adults into fearful, self-protective states that interfere with their contact with children’s states of mind.
This review, published in JAPA, explores a wide range of psychoanalytic approaches to work with c... more This review, published in JAPA, explores a wide range of psychoanalytic approaches to work with children, families and schools, from a book edited by Michael O'Loughlin.
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Papers by L. Eileen Keller, Ph.D.
points of view, and the capacity to reflect empathically (here with teachers in the face of their at times harsh and insensitive treatment of students)—are crucial to success in work with cumulatively traumatized staff (Khan,1963). The strongest resistances to consultation arise from an antiattachment
system developed as a result of cumulative trauma and
operating at multiple levels in the preschool. Consultation services are organized around an understanding of this anti-attachment system. At various levels of the system, including staff, parents, and children, consultants work to facilitate secure relationships in the preschool setting. These relationships foster recognition of children’s emotional complexities and build cooperative links between staff and parents, in an atmosphere that otherwise might often push adults into fearful, self-protective states that interfere with their contact with children’s states of mind.
points of view, and the capacity to reflect empathically (here with teachers in the face of their at times harsh and insensitive treatment of students)—are crucial to success in work with cumulatively traumatized staff (Khan,1963). The strongest resistances to consultation arise from an antiattachment
system developed as a result of cumulative trauma and
operating at multiple levels in the preschool. Consultation services are organized around an understanding of this anti-attachment system. At various levels of the system, including staff, parents, and children, consultants work to facilitate secure relationships in the preschool setting. These relationships foster recognition of children’s emotional complexities and build cooperative links between staff and parents, in an atmosphere that otherwise might often push adults into fearful, self-protective states that interfere with their contact with children’s states of mind.