Re: THE CASE OF JOSPH: Part Two

My impression is that the account of the case of Joseph is far enough
along so that we may begin to look for what in his treatment enabled him
to progress. I agree with Jessica Broitman's comments on the
constructive nature of Dr. Kusch's responses to Joseph. It will be
interesting to see how many ways there will prove to be for the various
members of this conference to understand the dynamics of Joseph's
progress.

Just now, I am caught by a sense that Dr. Kusch views Joseph's
homosexuality as some sort of a fact about him that exists outside of
developmental factors, a fact requiring adaptation on Joseph's part that
is needed for him to find himself. Keeping in mind that Dr. Kusch
has hindsight that we readers cannot get at this point, it still seems
interesting to me to consider the situation: A boy whose mother died
when he was nine emphasizes his memories of her cruelty to him. His
father (in the material so far presented) is horrified at the idea of
Joseph being homosexual, but his behavior with this son is not otherwise
described. We know that his brothers beat him up repeatedly. By the
time he is in high school, Joseph is teased--presumably for being
effeminate. He is rejected by women at work when he is in his early
twenties and believes that a noticeable number of men there are bisexual
and expect him to make advances to them. What does this mean in terms
of the larger world as an extension of his family of origin? Being
homosexual may have its own touch of compliance for him, in dealing with
his family.

The metaphor of the bubble fascinates me. Bubbles are usually
considered to be very light, but this bubble presses him painfully. Is
it a "head pregnancy?" With whom was it safe for him to compete?

If I may add a reminder: Freud's ideas about a paranoid individual
projecting his own impulses upon other people came from clinical
observation. Such an individual is not likely to be conscious of his
repressed impulses. He not only constructs a reaction formation,
experiencing only the opposite of the repressed impulses; he relieves the
intensity of any leftover anxiety about them by locating them in someone
else's personality.

In Joseph's case, it seems he was conscious of homosexual impulses at the
time of beginning treatment with Dr. Kusch, so this interpretation would
not apply. On the other hand, his perception that he was expected to
come on to those men suggests that he did grant somebody power over
himself, somebody who had the right to expect things of him.

It is encouraging to see that a dedicated psychotherapist can connect
with the core ego of a person as lost as Joseph was--and, as the tone of
the account lets one hope--help him to find self-respect.

Replies:

Re: THE CASE OF JOSPH: Part Two, by Steve Kusch, 8/5/99 Re: THE CASE OF JOSPH: Part Two, by Stephen Day, 9/23/99

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