Leading articles

THE VIENNA PSYCHOANALYST wants to give not only already internationally established psychoanalysts, but also still unknown psychoanalysts the opportunity to post a self-written and not yet published article on the FrontPage of our online magazine!

Our Users then can leave comments, ask questions or discuss the articles in our forum. Our aim is to provide an international platform where for the first time anyone interested in psychoanalysis can exchange ideas on certain topics.
Articles are welcome in German and/ or English.

If you are interested, please send your article to
leadingarticle@theviennapsychoanalyst.at


(For reasons of readability, the male form is used with personal names, however the female form is also always intended.)

In our interview series "in conversation with“, we will briefly present the authors of the leading articles. We want to give our users the opportunity to read the leading article from a different point of view.

This week we are very glad to welcome Jorge Luis Rios from Vienna, Austria:

• Born in 1984 in Lima, Peru
• 2013 Psychotherapy Science studies at the Sigmund Freud Private University
• June 2014 - March 2015 propaedeutic internship at the Sigmund Freud University Outpatient Clinic
• June 2016 Bachelor of Psychotherapy Science, SFU Vienna
Thesis title: „Trans-Symbolisierung der Libidotheorie von Sigmund Freud durch das Psycho-Bild-Spiel (PBS/k). Die Theorie als therapietheoretischer Hintergrund einer Bildbeschreibung im Rahmen eines imaginativhermeneutischen Forschungsverfahrens." [N.T. Trans-Symbolization of Sigmund Freud’s Libido Theory through the Psycho-Picture-Game (PBS / k). The theory as therapy-theoretical background of  image description in the context of imaginative hermeneutic research process.]
• October 2016 - May 2017 Clinical internship at SOWHAT: Medical Institute for People with Eating Disorders
• October 2017 Psychotherapist in training under supervision
• January 2017 - July 2018 practical work at the Sigmund Freud University Outpatient Clinic
• September 2018 psychotherapeutic activity in own practice
Foundation of LATP (Latin American transcultural psychotherapy)

 

DWP: What brought you to psychoanalysis?

Jorge Luis Rios: I’ve wanted to understand how the human psyche works since childhood, and particularly to understand and explore the functions of my own psyche. Even then, I had the feeling that there are far more forces at work with regard to our existence and our interpersonal relationships than those that we can grasp and perceive only with our senses. So, it was the unconscious force itself that brought me to psychoanalysis.


DWP: What fascinates you most about psychoanalysis?

Jorge Luis Rios: What I find particularly fascinating about psychoanalysis is the path towards self-awareness, which develops through continuous self-knowledge, freedom of action and autonomy of choices.


DWP: What challenges did you face during your analytical training?

Jorge Luis Rios: During my years in psychoanalytic training, I experienced many exciting, instructive, but also demanding moments in the discovery of my unconscious - especially through my dreams. I developed an understanding of the meaning that words, language, symbolism and their signifiers have for us, and recognized the inherent value of conversation. Likewise, I realized the need to courageously perceive feelings in order to integrate their realization in the consciousness. I recognized my resistance, innermost fears, hidden needs, and personal traits. In the course of this development, it became clear to me that it is in particular the training analysis and the practical work with patients that enable a deep understanding of the psychoanalytic theory in the first place. Theory and practice go hand in hand - psychoanalysis equals self-experience.


DWP: If you had the opportunity to talk to Sigmund Freud, what would be the topic?
Are there any specific questions?

Jorge Luis Rios: I would light a good Cuban cigar for us, look him straight in the eye, smile, and ask, "Dr. Freud, what did you conceal?"


DWP: Fabric or leather couch?

Jorge Luis Rios: Fabric, definitely.


DWP: Bruno Bettelheim pointed out the importance of fairy tales in childhood. Will you tell us your favorite fairy tale? And do you see parallels to your own adult life?

Jorge Luis Rios: Instead of a fairy tale, I would like to choose a myth: the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice. I see symbolic parallels to my life, especially regarding the message that love knows no bounds.


DWP: I dream,….

Jorge Luis Rios: ... of having new dreams again and again.


DWP: What can psychoanalysis contribute to today´s society? How does it influence your life? What are its limitations?

Jorge Luis Rios: The same contribution it has made throughout its history: mental maturation, inner freedom and mental development. I do not see limitations in psychoanalysis as such, but rather the limits of human beings.


DWP: What do you particularly appreciate about psychoanalysis? Can psychoanalysis also have negative effects/cause harm?

Jorge Luis Rios: The feeling of looking at life from a new perspective, and to meet it with renewed strength.


DWP: Would you tell us your favorite quote? By Freud, or any other psychoanalyst?

Jorge Luis Rios: „Flectere si nequeo superos, acheronta movevo." [‘If I cannot bend the Higher Powers, I will move the Infernal Regions.’] (Motto of Sigmund Freud in Interpretation of Dreams)

“A reborn eye transforms the old deed." (Léon Wurmser)*
* Henrik Ibsen, „John Gabriel Borkman“, 1896, S.451

Thank you very much for this conversation, we are already looking forward to your leading article!


Contact information:
Jorge Luis Rios