The body as a mode of representation

Abstract

Freud and Ferenczi foreshadowed latter clinical evidence that there is more than one mode of representation. Further clinical explorations ( Klein, Isaacs, Bion and Segal) into the processes of symbolization and the role of the body in expressing “memories in feelings” prepared us for the shift in psychoanalysis from a focus on wishes and conflicts to a focus on process and relationship within the here and now of the analytic session. The Botella’s exploration of figurability also emphasizes the role of the body in early primordial symbolization.