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This article was downloaded by: [Tulane University] On: 08 September 2013, At: 07:25 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK International Journal of Psychoanalytic Self Psychology Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/hpsp20 Vulnerability, Process, and Preston's “Edge of Awareness” Dr. Marty Livingston Ph.D. a b a Post Graduate Center for Mental Health, New York, NY b Training and Research Institute for Self Psychology, New York, NY Published online: 02 Dec 2008. To cite this article: Dr. Marty Livingston Ph.D. (2008) Vulnerability, Process, and Preston's “Edge of Awareness”, International Journal of Psychoanalytic Self Psychology, 3:4, 370-375, DOI: 10.1080/15551020802337427 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15551020802337427 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content.

Vulnerability, Process, and Preston's “Edge of Awareness”

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This article was downloaded by: [Tulane University]On: 08 September 2013, At: 07:25Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH,UK

International Journal ofPsychoanalytic Self PsychologyPublication details, including instructions forauthors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/hpsp20

Vulnerability, Process, andPreston's “Edge of Awareness”Dr. Marty Livingston Ph.D. a ba Post Graduate Center for Mental Health, New York,NYb Training and Research Institute for Self Psychology,New York, NYPublished online: 02 Dec 2008.

To cite this article: Dr. Marty Livingston Ph.D. (2008) Vulnerability, Process,and Preston's “Edge of Awareness”, International Journal of Psychoanalytic SelfPsychology, 3:4, 370-375, DOI: 10.1080/15551020802337427

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15551020802337427

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all theinformation (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform.However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make norepresentations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness,or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and viewsexpressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, andare not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of theContent should not be relied upon and should be independently verified withprimary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for anylosses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages,and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly orindirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of theContent.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes.Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan,sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone isexpressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found athttp://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

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Vulnerability, Process,

and Preston’s

“Edge of Awareness”

Marty Livingston, Ph.D.

In this discussion of Preston’s article, “The Edge of Awareness,” I share myreactions and pose some questions. I will not try to answer them. The centraltheme of the article relates to a sense of process that is often referred to by cli-nicians, but seldom clearly defined. When we speak about a sense of process,are we talking about pushing the edge of awareness? Can we define this sensemore clearly, or is it itself often on the edge of awareness? In essence, is thissense of process an implicit walking of the boundary between knowing andnot knowing? The discussion closes with a brief illustration of a “sustainedempathic focus.” Even in the abstracted form presented here, I think that itis a good example of one of the many ways that analysts intuitively encouragethe exploration of Preston’s concept of the “edge of awareness.”

Keywords: vulnerability; knowing; awareness; Gendlin; process

n this brief discussion of Lynn Preston’s “The Edge of Awareness:Gendlin’s Contribution to Explorations of Implicit Experience,” Iwill share my reactions and pose some questions for the reader to

ponder. I will not try to answer them.Preston’s article is itself a good example of the process she is describ-

ing. It implicitly expresses and evokes. It “touches” the edge of the reader’sknowing and not knowing. As I see it, the central theme of the article re-

370

International Journal of Psychoanalytic Self Psychology, 3:370–375, 2008Copyright © The International Association for Psychoanalytic Self PsychologyISSN: 1555-1024 print / 1940-9141 onlineDOI: 10.1080/15551020802337427

Dr. Livingston is affiliated with the Post Graduate Center for Mental Health and Trainingand Research Institute for Self Psychology, New York, NY.

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lates to a sense of process, which is often referred to by clinicians but seldomclearly defined. As good theory, Preston’s article provides a sense of organi-zation and at the same time stretches the reader’s organization to includemore of what has been unarticulated, yet known. Also, as good theory, itguides the reader as to what to listen for and what to focus on in the clinicalmoment. It is this sense of focus that serves as a bridge between theory andclinical practice (Livingston, 2006).

“The Edge of Awareness: Gendlin’s Contribution to Explorations ofImplicit Experience” is much more than an explication of Gendlin’s contri-bution. It is a contribution of Preston’s understanding and use of the “edgeof awareness” within her own self-psychological and intersubjective ap-proach. One important test of the meaningfulness of an article to the readeris whether it impacts on the reader’s clinical work and conceptualization.Does it provide a focus for intervention and raise questions as we listen toour patients in the days following having read it? It certainly did that for me.

I found myself thinking about what I choose to focus on in sessions abit differently. I began to look at what I do, often intuitively, sometimeswith conscious intent, in an attempt to deepen an analytic process, throughan additional lens. Drawing on my reactions to Preston’s article, I could addto my sense of a “sustained empathic focus” on the patient’s affective andsubjective experience (Livingston, 2006) by thinking of it as an implicitholding, containing, and encouraging of an exploration of the edge ofawareness. When I ask a patient to “stay a little longer” (Livingston, 2004)with their feeling in the here and now of the moment, I am encouragingthem to stay a little longer with the “unarticulated, undefined confusion”between the known and the unknown.

When we speak about a sense of process, are we talking about pushingthe edge of awareness, even if ever so slightly, in many different manners? Ithink that when we feel good about a session without being able to point tosignificant shifts, it is this sense of process that we are relying on. Can wedefine this sense more clearly, or is it itself often on the edge of awareness?In essence, is this mystical, all-important sense of process that comes onlywith experience an implicit walking of the boundary between knowing andnot knowing?

Do we create “process” by an implicit expression of interest in thatedge? I have found that to be true in the facilitation of “vulnerable mo-ments” (Livingston, 2001). The analyst’s interest and valuing of vulnerabil-ity, as a pivotal experience leading to growth and change, in and of itself iskey to promoting such experiences. The analyst’s interest and eagerness to

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stay in this space with the patient is an essential part of creating a safe hold-ing environment that allows exploration and the resumption of arrested de-velopment.

Another question I would like to raise is whether shifts in self-state,often an implicitly sensed bodily experience, are a good entry point into anemerging experience of that edge of awareness? I believe that the analyst’salertness to these shifts is essential to a rupture and repair process and alsoimplicitly central to the deepening of an empathic understanding andbond.

Further, I would like to suggest that the very development of psychicstructure and the strengthening of the patient’s sense of self, which is at theheart of our analytic endeavor, is a development of the capacity to regulateand contain the sense of confusion and loss that is often inherent in theedge of awareness. This is closely related to the development of affect regu-lation and the capacity to mourn that, again, is a key element of all psycho-analytic work.

I would suggest that these attitudes are implicitly inherent in aself-psychological emphasis on sustained empathic inquiry. In fact, are theynot basic to any psychoanalytic stance? Furthermore, recent developmentsin neuropsychoanalysis that have confirmed many of our self-psychologicalpositions also dovetail nicely with the concept of exploring the edge ofawareness. Schore (2005), for example, has found that the right hemi-sphere of the brain is linked to implicit information processing. Perhapswhen we focus on the implicit and the edge of awareness we are activatingand encouraging a fuller use of this essential part of the brain. It thus seemsthat there is a clear neurological correlate between the development of psy-chic structure and the integration of right and left brain functioning.

I would like to close with a brief illustration of what Louisa Livingstonand I (Livingston & Livingston, 2006) refer to as a “sustained empathic fo-cus.” Even in the abstracted form that I present here, I think that it is a goodexample of one of the many ways that analysts intuitively encourage the ex-ploration of Preston’s concept of the edge of awareness.

A patient we call “Jennie” reported in great detail an argument withher husband:

Marty: You’re trying to paint a picture so we can figure out what itmeans that you’re angry. I would love to just stick with yourfeeling.

372 Marty Livingston

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Jennie: There is a feeling of being thwarted. There’s a feeling of it’sgot to be his decision, even the minutest thing. And it can’tbe mine.

Marty: (Gently persistent.) And what do you feel when that hap-pens?

Jennie: (laughing) I want to kill him! I’m like so angry at him. I’m soangry at him. I just want to grab him and strangle him attimes; because he won’t … he just thwarts me. [Jennie re-peatedly goes back to story telling and Marty gently, but per-sistently, returns to a focus on affect.]

Marty: So, what did you feel when he insisted?Jennie: He’s in control. We’re not going to do what I want to do. It

feels very out of control. It feels better not to even ask foranything, because then you get nothing. “You want thesecrumbs? You better shut up.”

Marty: And when that happens I feel …Jennie: (in frustration) Ahh!! I’m angry! I’m just really angry. It’s

very hard to be angry, because (crying) I feel so ashamed offeeling angry. What I’m really feeling is ashamed. I feel sobad. Like I’m really bad. Wow! That leaked out. If I get angry,then they really won’t love me.

This vignette illustrates the application of a sustained empathic fo-cus on affect. The analyst consistently, internally organizes whatever con-tent patients express in relation to underlying affect, emerging transfer-ence and vulnerability, and underlying belief systems. The surfacecontent of discussion shifts with the wind. The analyst’s persistent atten-tion to underlying affect, subjectivity, and vulnerability remains steadyand provides a focus for understanding and organizing. My understandingof this process is greatly enhanced by the additional lens of viewing thisas encouraging the exploration of the edge of awareness. Jennie is movingto a deeper awareness of both her affect and her basic organizing princi-ples. She is moving along the edge of what is unknown and yet known. Indoing this she can begin the development of an increased capacity for af-fect regulation and the processing of painful disavowed feelings, and a ca-pacity to mourn. The area between the known and the unknown, theedge of awareness, is where process and the development of psychicstructure lie.

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References

Livingston, M. (2001), Vulnerable Moments: Deepening the Therapeutic Process. Northvale,NJ: Jason Aronson.

Livingston, M. (2004), Stay a little longer: Sustained empathy and affective focus in couplestreatment. Psychoanal. Inq., 24:438–452.

Livingston, M. (2006), Sustained empathic focus, vulnerability, and the centrality of subjec-tive–affective experience: Further thoughts on a self-psychological approach to the clini-cal use of dreams. Internat. J. Psychoanal. Self Psychol., 1:285–300.

Livingston, M., & Livingston, L. (2006), Sustained emphatic focus and the clinical applica-tion of self-psychological theory in group psychotherapy. Int. J. Group Psychother.,56:67–85.

Schore, A. (2005), A neuropsychoanalytic viewpoint: Commentary on paper by Steven H.Knoblauch. Psychoanal. Dial., 15:829–854.

Marty Livingston, Ph.D.127 E. 30th St.New York, NY 10016212–685–4336m–[email protected]

Translations of Abstract

En esta discusión sobre “El Límite de la Consciencia” de Preston, voy a compartir misreacciones al artículo y propondré algunas preguntas. No voy a tratar de responderlas. Eltema central del artículo se refiere a la sensación de proceso que a menudo es mencionadapor los clínicos, pero que raramente es definida con claridad. Cuando hablamos de sensaciónde proceso ¿estamos hablando de mover el límite de la conciencia? ¿Podemos definir másclaramente esta sensación, o en sí misma está a menudo en el límite de la conciencia? Enesencia ¿es esta sensación de proceso un implícito transitar por el borde entre el conocer y elno conocer? La discusión se cierra con una ilustración breve de un “foco empáticosostenido.” Incluso en la forma abstracta que aquí se presenta, creo que es un buen ejemplode las muchas maneras en que los analistas intuitivamente animan la exploración de lo quePreston denomina “el límite de la conciencia.”

Cette discussion de l’article de Preston, «The Edge of Awareness» sera l’occasion pour moide partager mes réactions et de poser certaines questions, sans toutefois tenter d’y répondre.Le thème central de cet article réfère à un sens du processus souvent mentionné par lescliniciens mais rarement clairement défini. Lorsque nous parlons d’un sens du processus,parlons-nous de repousser les limites de la conscience? Pouvons-nous définir ce sens plusclairement, ou se situe-t-il lui-même aux limites de la conscience? Essentiellement, ce sensdu processus revient-il à justement se mouvoir implicitement sur la frontière entre savoir etne pas savoir? La discussion se termine par une brève illustration de «centration empathiquesoutenue». Même dans la forme abstraite présentée ici, je pense qu’il s’agit d’un bon exemple

374 Marty Livingston

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d’une des nombreuses manières par lesquelles les analystes encouragent intuitivementl’exploration ce que Preston propose conceptuellement comme le «bord de la conscience».

Mit dieser Diskussion von Prestons “The Edge of Awareness” (Schwelle des Bewusstseins)will ich dem Leser meine Reaktion mitteilen und einige Fragen stellen. Ich werde jedochnicht versuchen, sie zu beantworten. Das zentrale Thema dieser Ausarbeitung bezieht sichauf den Sinn eines Prozesses, auf den Kliniker oft hinweisen, der aber selten klar definiertwird. Wenn wir über die Sinnhaftigkeit eines Prozesses sprechen, reden wir dann über dasErweitern der Bewusstseinsschwelle? Vermögen wir diesen Sinn deutlicher zu definierenund dies stellt oft die Schwelle des Bewusstseins dar? Stellt der Sinn eines Prozessestatsächlich ein implizites Sich-an-der-Grenze-Bewegen zwischen Wissen und Nicht-Wissendar? Die Diskussion schließt mit einer kurzen Illustration eines “aufrecht gehaltenenempathischen Fokus.” Selbst in der hier zusammengefassten Form denke ich, dass sie eingutes Beispiel für einen der vielen Wege ist, der Analytikern intuitiv Mut zur Explorationvon Prestons Konzept der “Schwelle des Bewusstsein” macht.

In questa discussione del lavoro di Preston “Il bordo della consapevolezza”, metterò incomune le mie reazioni e porrò alcune domande. Non cercherò di dare risposte. Il temacentrale dell’articolo tratta a un senso del processo al quale spesso si fa riferimento da partedei terapeuti, ma che di solito è poco chiaramente definito. Quando parliamo di un senso delprocesso, stiamo parlando di spingere avanti il bordo della consapevolezza? Possiamodefinire meglio questo senso, oppure esso stesso è spesso al bordo della consapevolezza? Insintesi, questo senso del processo è un procedere implicito del confine fra conoscere e nonconoscere? La discussione s conclude con una breve illustrazione di un “focus empaticocontinuativo”. Anche nella forma astratta presentata qui, penso che sia un buon esempio diuno dei modi in cui gli analisti incoraggiano intuitivamente l’esplorazione del concetto di“bordo della consapevolezza” di Preston.

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