Revisiting “Truths” in the Guise of Illusion: Response to Roger Hastings and Estelle Shane

Abstract

In their discussions of my article, Roger Hastings and Estelle Shane each offer a compelling and complementary perspective on understanding enactment and the experience of enactment, as I have tried to convey it. In my response I highlight, and comment on, points they each make. In my response to Hastings, I elaborate on his consideration of the “process level of awareness,” and the problem of “conveyance” as well as his thoughts about trauma, dissociation, and enactment. In my response to Shane, I reconsider enactment through the contemporary lens of complexity theory, the perspective from which Shane has written her discussion. In particular, I consider aspects of the writings of the four thinkers whose work Shane cites. I am most appreciative of both Roger Hastings and Estelle Shane, two wonderful thinkers and experienced clinicians, who have thoughtfully and creatively crafted discussions that expand and enrich my article.