Neville Symington
Encyclopedia
Neville Symington, a member of the Middle Group of British Psychoanalysts, 'has trodden a long and interesting path...tak[ing] him from his birthplace in Portugal, via England, to Australia, and with membership of the Port Wine Trade, the Catholic Church, the Tavistock Clinic
, and the British Institute of Psycho-Analysis as stopping-points'.
Symington was a Catholic priest, before working at the Tavistock in the 70s and 80s. He emigrated to Australia in 1986, and was President of the Australian Psychoanalytical Society from 1999-2002.
, producing what has been called his 'very particular, complex, and intriguing understanding....Symington (1993) understands narcissism as the psychopathology that underlies all other'.
Symington considered that 'the infant/child becomes narcissistically disordered by making an unconscious choice either towards the lifegiver (its authenticity or spontaneity) or to its disavowal and the use of magical pretence in order to evade psychic reality and to avoid external reality'. The result of the latter choice is that 'in place of autonomy, the adult...would come to obey an internal source that the psychoanalyst Neville Symington calls the "discordant source"...pathological'.
'At one time a Catholic priest, but subsequently Tavistock trained...in later writings, Symington mingled metaphysical faith-claims with his psychology of the mystical' in what might perhaps be almost seen as a "return of the repressed" (religion) into psychoanalysis. It was a move that created a certain amount of controversy: thus for example Robert M. Young
- taking exception to Symington's study of W. R. Bion as 'a very particular, idiosyncratic and controversial rendering of Bion's thinking' - considered that 'the evangelical and pontifical elements of this book are illuminated by his recently declared views on religion'.
Symington sees 'the psychic process, with its therapeutic arrival at the depressive position, as a process of moral education', declaring that '"Psychoanalysis
is a natural religion but not a revealed one"'. Following that lead, 'many analysts, who have adopted a positive understanding of religion with a Winnicottian twist...make a distinction, in the spirit of the deists, between natural religion[s] and revealed religion...with reference to Symington'.
Others however consider that 'Symington's wish to establish a fertile relationship of mutual need between psychoanalysis and religion is based on rather simplistic philosophical arguments', with the result that 'inevitably Symington becomes moralistic'. They might favour instead the position that 'though psychoanalysis is not a religion - and is notably insufficient if used as one' - it is nonetheless 'inescapably a moral enterprise - "tending as it does towards greater freedom in the making of moral choices" - that has to work hard not to become a moralistic one'.
, in expressing some of her own doubts about psychoanalytic training, noted that 'Neville Symington...is of the opinion that a long personal analysis, which we all have as part of our training, leaves the narcissism stronger, and the ego weaker, than they were at the beginning'.
This may perhaps be linked with Symington's early work on the importance of the analyst's spontaneity - 'a therapeutic orientation that has been dramatically captured by the British "middle school" analyst Neville Symington (1983) as "the analyst's act of freedom as agent of therapeutic change"' - as well as with his 'existential point of departure...the unique perspective of profound ontological insecurity'.
Symington maintains that 'truth in psychoanalysis emerges between the analyst and the patient and...demands that a preconception is abandoned in both'.
Tavistock Clinic
The in London was founded in 1920 by Dr. Hugh Crichton-Miller, a psychiatrist who developed psychological treatments for shell-shocked soldiers during and after the First World War. The clinic's first patient was, however, a child. Its clinical services were always, therefore, for both children...
, and the British Institute of Psycho-Analysis as stopping-points'.
Symington was a Catholic priest, before working at the Tavistock in the 70s and 80s. He emigrated to Australia in 1986, and was President of the Australian Psychoanalytical Society from 1999-2002.
On narcissism
Symington is perhaps best known for his work on narcissismNarcissism
Narcissism is a term with a wide range of meanings, depending on whether it is used to describe a central concept of psychoanalytic theory, a mental illness, a social or cultural problem, or simply a personality trait...
, producing what has been called his 'very particular, complex, and intriguing understanding....Symington (1993) understands narcissism as the psychopathology that underlies all other'.
Symington considered that 'the infant/child becomes narcissistically disordered by making an unconscious choice either towards the lifegiver (its authenticity or spontaneity) or to its disavowal and the use of magical pretence in order to evade psychic reality and to avoid external reality'. The result of the latter choice is that 'in place of autonomy, the adult...would come to obey an internal source that the psychoanalyst Neville Symington calls the "discordant source"...pathological'.
Religion and psychoanalysis
The origins of his book on narcissism came about, in Symington's words, when 'I started to work on the subject of Psychoanalysis and Religion, and it came to me quite early in that research that the connecting link between the two disciples was narcissism'. The two subjects were both very close to Symington's central concerns.'At one time a Catholic priest, but subsequently Tavistock trained...in later writings, Symington mingled metaphysical faith-claims with his psychology of the mystical' in what might perhaps be almost seen as a "return of the repressed" (religion) into psychoanalysis. It was a move that created a certain amount of controversy: thus for example Robert M. Young
Robert M. Young (academic)
For other people with this name, see Robert Young ----Robert Maxwell Young, usually known as Robert M. Young or Bob Young , is a historian of science specialising in the 19th century and particularly Darwinian thought, a philosopher of the biological and human sciences, and a Kleinian...
- taking exception to Symington's study of W. R. Bion as 'a very particular, idiosyncratic and controversial rendering of Bion's thinking' - considered that 'the evangelical and pontifical elements of this book are illuminated by his recently declared views on religion'.
Symington sees 'the psychic process, with its therapeutic arrival at the depressive position, as a process of moral education', declaring that '"Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
is a natural religion but not a revealed one"'. Following that lead, 'many analysts, who have adopted a positive understanding of religion with a Winnicottian twist...make a distinction, in the spirit of the deists, between natural religion[s] and revealed religion...with reference to Symington'.
Others however consider that 'Symington's wish to establish a fertile relationship of mutual need between psychoanalysis and religion is based on rather simplistic philosophical arguments', with the result that 'inevitably Symington becomes moralistic'. They might favour instead the position that 'though psychoanalysis is not a religion - and is notably insufficient if used as one' - it is nonetheless 'inescapably a moral enterprise - "tending as it does towards greater freedom in the making of moral choices" - that has to work hard not to become a moralistic one'.
Training, spontaneity, and truth
Nina ColtartNina Coltart
Nina Coltart , a British psychoanalyst, psychotherapist, and essayist, was born in Kent, England. Her father was a medical doctor and her mother, a housewife. In 1940 she and her younger sister Gill were evacuated to Cornwall, where they lived with their maternal grandmother and a nanny who, years...
, in expressing some of her own doubts about psychoanalytic training, noted that 'Neville Symington...is of the opinion that a long personal analysis, which we all have as part of our training, leaves the narcissism stronger, and the ego weaker, than they were at the beginning'.
This may perhaps be linked with Symington's early work on the importance of the analyst's spontaneity - 'a therapeutic orientation that has been dramatically captured by the British "middle school" analyst Neville Symington (1983) as "the analyst's act of freedom as agent of therapeutic change"' - as well as with his 'existential point of departure...the unique perspective of profound ontological insecurity'.
Symington maintains that 'truth in psychoanalysis emerges between the analyst and the patient and...demands that a preconception is abandoned in both'.