Introductory Lectures on Neuropsychoanalysis: Lecture Six Part 3 "Treatment Case Example Mr. C" Ending Phase

ENDING PHASE............. As Mr. C's treatment is ongoing, I would like to imagine in this section how his ending phase of treatment might proceed. Gradually Mr. C began to develop a new prediction in his present life that allowed him to remove obstacles that stood in the way of meeting his needs. As a result his RAGE ceased to exist. He was then able to give up his defense of reaction formation against the RAGE, because its cause had been eliminated, by the new workable prediction he was now living by in his present life. He also became more comfortable with normal anger and frustration, and as a result was more assertive with those around him, including his therapist............. Whenever Mr. C would fall back into the old pattern of not successfully removing frustrating objects from his life, and feeling the RAGE once again, I would point this out to him again and again in many different situations. Together we kept working through the old prediction until he was able to make changes in these patterns on his own. I felt as this point Mr. C might be ready for termination. He agreed. During the ending phase Mr. C would at times repeat the old prediction. This is because the new prediction does not get rid of the old one. It is formed alongside the old one (Solms). But with time and working through, the new prediction won out most of the time over the old one. Eventually, Mr. C could experience on his own when the new prediction was working, and this helped him to adopt it more regularly. The more he implemented the new prediction, the less RAGE he felt, and the healthier he became. Thus, his therapy sessions came to a natural end ......... I hope this case of Mr. C has helped you see how helpful neuropsychoanalytic therapy is for those who are capable and willing to engage in it.