The Body and Compulsion in Childhood - Christine Anzieu-Premmereur

In this article, Christine Anzieu-Premmereur explores the relationship between compulsion and the body in childhood and adolescence. Using psychoanalytic theory, she analyzes how the compulsive repetition of self-destructive behaviors can represent an attempt to process and make sense of early traumatic experiences. The article highlights the importance of early therapeutic intervention in childhood to prevent emotional and addictive problems later in life. In a world where addiction and emotional difficulties affect many people, understanding the roots of these behaviors is crucial. Through psychoanalytic theory, the author guides us in exploring the underlying mechanisms of compulsive repetition and its role in shaping subjectivity. Christine Anzieu-Premmereur proposes models of early psychic processes that influence repetition compulsion, distinguishing between two types: one that fosters creativity and openness, and another that leads to disorganization and destructiveness. She examines how early relationship disturbances can contribute to addiction and compulsive behaviors in adulthood. Early therapeutic intervention is therefore essential to foster creativity and free association in patients. Ultimately, the author argues that compulsive behaviors can reflect attempts to process and make sense of early experiences, even when this process is painful or difficult. She also highlights the importance of analytic space, transitional spaces, and creative activities as settings where emotions can be explored and understood.

Christine Anzieu-Premmereur is an adult and child psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, and a member of the Société Psychanalytique de Paris and the New York Psychoanalytic Institute. She directed the Parent-Infant Psychotherapy Training at Columbia University and served as chair of the IPA Committee for Child and Adolescent Psychoanalysis. She has published extensively on motherhood, child psychoanalysis, psychosomatics, addiction, and the intersection of the body and compulsion.

You can download a copy of the paper here.

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Cover Image: Simon Vouet, Madonna and Child, 1633. Courtesy of National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

https://www.nga.gov/artworks/206070-madonna-and-child