Birth of the Self

How can analysis birth the self?

We will explore this question by illuminating ideas about birth. Nascent stirrings of the Self often initiate the labor of analytic work, which can be influenced by our life stories, including our birth story.

Birth is a topic that is pregnant with meaning. It can be a signifier of the un-symbolized, unimagined, and un-experienced. It can manifest as a regressive, developmental experience, suffused with body or implicit memory. Birth can also act as a symbol or metaphor, and be expressed as a second birth or rebirth. Finally, it may emerge in the efflorescence of self-development involving a more related connection to the Self–a precursor to more complete development, heralding transformations in being and spirit.

These ideas come to life through Dr. Marlo’s presentation of an emergent process of birth, development, and transformation from over 15 years of analysis with a woman who began analysis dissociated from her self/Self.

Using evocative imagery, session dialogue, and Dr. Marlo’s inner experience, this workshop intimately examines what happens behind the consulting room door, allowing participants to reflect on their experience in analysis and examine the practice of analysis and its transformative potential.