
Joseba Achotegui
Barcelona University, SpainPresentation Title:
An evolutionary reading of Melanie Klein. Five relevant concordances between evolutionary theory and Melanie Klein's psychoanalysis. Application in the Kayak test
Abstract
The presentation shows the relevant agreements that
exist between evolutionism and Melanie Klein's psychoanalysis, despite the fact
that they are apparently very different approaches. Five major, very relevant
points of agreement are highlighted. 1) The importance of relational life in
the structure of mental functioning. Our brain is 7 times larger than our size,
and it is to be able to manage our very complex social life. We are a
eusocial species, like bees or ants, but we have autonomy and freedom with many
emotions, fantasies, experiences. Melanie Klein points out how from birth
impulses seek a relationship with the object, our world is relational. Mental
disorder is largely the expression of relational problems and there is a
continuum between mental health and mental disorder. In the evolutionary model
it is stated that our mind was built for community life but that this social
life creates many emotional tensions. Melanie Klein considers that anxiety is
fundamentally an expression of aggressiveness. The two theories consider the
game as training and an expression of emotions and learning about life
together. For Melanie Klein, play is a central element in her psychoanalytic
treatment model. The two theories consider that the baby has intense experiences
in relation to her situation of dependence and her ties with her caregivers and
with the community. In the evolutionary model, the competition-collaboration
theory and the Kleinian envy-gratitude theory share the perspective that
conflict with the management of aggression is key to mental health.
Biography
Joseba Achotegui is a Professor of Psychotherapy Techniques at the University of Barcelona and a psychiatrist specializing in psychotherapy, mental health and migration, community mental health, and evolutionary psychology. He has served as the secretary of the Transcultural Section of the World Psychiatric Association. A prolific author, he has published several books and regularly contributes to a blog in the newspaper Público. In 2002, Dr. Achotegui described the Ulysses Syndrome, a condition linked to the chronic and extreme stress experienced by migrants.