"In therapy": the series evaluated by a psychoanalyst (and his patients): Femme Actuelle Le MAG

Half an hour of dialogue between a shrink and his patient, a unique setting – the office where he consults – an armchair, a couch, and that's about it. Despite this minimalist staging, the Arte series, by Vincent Toledano and Eric Nakache, seduces. Let's see why with the psychoanalyst Saverio Tomasella, author of the recent Don't miss out on your life (Flammarion editions).

A rehabilitation of psychoanalysis

For our psychologist, the success of the Arte series is pleasing: "If it was necessary to criticize the abuses of psychoanalysis, it did not deserve to be denigrated in an outrageous and unfair way, as it does. has been in recent years. It is courageous and beneficial to highlight the strengths of speech therapy, to give back a taste for psychoanalysis, by demystifying it, while being honest. It is above all a question of listening to the singularity of each person, to help them achieve (which goes against the grain of the current health crisis, with masks, physical distancing, etc.) Rather than resilience, which we often talk about wrongly and through , this series highlights the vulnerability, the fragility, and that's a good thing, in our performance society. "

Dismantle the myth of psy omnipotence

"It's surprising: my patients tell me a lot aboutIn therapy since a few weeks. To them, this is an interesting series, because it shows the dead ends, and even the flaws of shrinks; it desecrates the all power of experts. No, shrinks are not men and women who know (and save), and are protected by their knowledge and expertise. It is very reassuring for patients to see this myth debunked. "

Love transfer and necessary distance

The situation : From the first episode, Ariane (played by Mélanie Thierry) confesses her feeling of love for the shrink. She is in full transfer …

The analysis: "It is interesting to observe what is playing out, and how a patient, through a smile or a warm word, will imagine a response or confirmation to their romantic fantasy. It is a complicated situation, even if it is not. is not uncommon. In this case, the therapist must not leave room for ambiguity, and keep his distance. Dodging is not enough. It is a question of making the patient understand that the transference does not concern the person of the psychoanalyst, but another figure, real, close to the patient. My patients were also struck by the fact that Ariadne was very emotional in front of Dr. Dayan, a Lacanian psychologist, very cerebral. She questions his humanity, in short, and this is very important. We see a very intellectual, very mental shrink, who remains in rational logic, without welcoming sensations, emotions … "

The fragility of the policeman

The situation : Adel (played by Reda Kateb) is a BRI police officer, traumatized by the Bataclan attack where he had to intervene. He is sent for consultation by his superiors; he had panic attacks, which he doesn't call that, of course. Just as he leaves his gun in the trunk of his car, he sheds weight and becomes more human as the episodes go by.

The analysis: "Very interesting, this BRI policeman. A character who carries within him a paradox: his resistance and his fragility. This already shows the difficulty of the profession of policeman or CRS, to whom we ask to be tough, to armor We see here that the therapy allows him to crack (in the original sense of the term), that is to say to break the simplistic and reductive model of the policeman, of the symbol of authority… The fact that the series refers to the Bataclan attack is essential: it was an individual and collective trauma, and popular fictions must address national tragedies. "

Controller and latent conflicts

The situation : In the series, Dr Philippe Dayan, also in complete disarray, regularly consults what Lacanian shrinks call a "controller" (played by Carole Bouquet), whom Saverio Tomasella calls "supervisor", a more "sympathetic" term, according to him. Between the shrink and his controller, there is a liability, and badly settled conflicts …

The analysis: "It's courageous enough to show this aspect of our job. It is indeed fundamental to talk about our practice with someone (one of our peers) who helps us see more clearly." The sometimes acidic exchanges between the two? "It is well seen! There are, within professional associations of psychologists, grudges, latent disputes. One of my friends, a Parisian psychoanalyst, told me the other day that there is no more violent than a shrink towards another shrink! It is due to too many unspoken, to professionals who do not express their emotions; it is paradoxical, because they can be benevolent vis-à-vis their patients, and having a tough tooth between them, making final and brittle judgments. I find it very honest from the authors of this series to discuss the reality of these relationship problems. "

Role reversal

In one of the episodes, Camille (played by the young actress Céleste Brunnquell), the young swimmer who has both wrists in plaster and on whom Dr. Dayan must write an expert report, suggests that the shrink reverse the roles; she sits in her chair and he lies down on the couch … "This role reversal evokes mutual psychoanalysis, proposed by Sándor Ferenczi, a colleague of Freud, who practiced in Budapest.. ”explains Saverio Tomasella.

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