In this paper the author discusses the notion of dissociation and its clinical manifestation in psychoanalytic contexts. He highlights the idea of“dissociative turn,”proposed by S. Itzkowich, who discusses how our mind might be turned around and prepared to deal with dissociative phenomenon and dissociative cases in a clinically useful way, while still retaining some of our familiar analytic conceptualizations. Itzkowich’s argument raises three points to reflect on, i.e., (1) mind being characterized by multiple, discontinuous, centers of consciousness. (2) The actuality of trauma during infancy and early childhood. (3) Establishing communication and understanding between the dissociated self-states as the Therapeutic goal. In any of these points, there have been conflicting theories and ideas in psychoanalytic literature proposed by different clinicians, which are mainly classified as the ones based on the assumption that the mind as a single entity ways on the one hand, and the mind consisting with multiple consciousness, on the other, roughly corresponding to van der Hart’s two types of therapeutic attitude. The author argues that the therapists should avoid “either-or” attitude of them and regard the mind as both potentially single as well as multiple. The author stresses that while dissociative parts have been considered as partial and fragmentary in its nature as a personality structure, respecting their sense of autonomy and self-hood should be well respected in order to form a good therapeutic relationship.
