The Development of an Analytic Mind, Analytic Identity, and Analytic Voice

ABSTRACT This article describes the process of development and discovery of an analytic mind, identity, and voice. This is seen through the author’s personal journey during psychoanalytic training and practice. That journey, like that of many candidates, begins with a sense of curiosity and “not knowing enough” which then propels the candidate into a search for certainty. Central to this process is the interaction of one’s personal analysis, supervised clinical practice, and didactic seminars. These become a backdrop that works to free the analyst’s mind in the service of one’s analytic work. The author reflects on her nascent concept of analytic mind and describes it as the potential space in the mind which becomes recognized and developed through analysis and training, giving rise to a new way of thinking, experiencing, and understanding the underlying ambiguous forces that determine human adaptation and distress. The author’s evolving concept of analytic identity is described as an inner sense of one’s self as an analyst, now represented in relation to a shared sense of mind and being part of a theoretical community with a shared history and approach to patient’s struggles. The developing idea of analytic voice is that voice in which we convey our work and express it to ourselves, our peers, and our patients. A voice with a new language that evolved from the analytic mind and identity, and is manifested in a greater capacity to show and communicate with patients and others.