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 Petra Roscheck from Vienna, Austria:

Psychoanalyst / psychotherapist in training under supervision
Education/Training:
Studied psychotherapy science at the Sigmund Freud University, Vienna
Bachelor of Arts at the University of Vienna in Theater, Film and Media Studies
Filmmaking diploma at the New York Film Academy, New York
Psychosocial / psychotherapeutic activities:
Currently Psychotherapist in training under supervision in private practice, 1010 Vienna
Until 2018 Psychotherapist in training under supervision at the Sigmund Freud University Outpatient Clinic for adults, 1010 Vienna

Clinic Menterschwaige, specialized clinic for in-patient psychotherapy, psychiatry and psychoanalysis, Munich
Clara-Fey-Wohnen, assisted living for children and adolescents, 1190 Vienna
Pilot project "Anti-obesity" for children and adolescents of WGKK, Gesundheitszentrum Vienna-North

Lecture titled “Beauty & Shame” held at the Austrian women physicians’ annual conference
Participation in the initiative "We like EveryBody" by the Vienna Program for Women´s Health

Documentary "90-60-90 Essen. Brechen. Weiterlächeln [N.T. Eating, Vomiting, Smiling]." New sentimental movie, Puls4

Member of the VÖPP - Vereinigung Österreichischer Psychotherapeutinnen und Psychotherapeuten [N.T. Association of Austrian Psychotherapists]


DWP: What brought you to psychoanalysis?

Petra Roscheck: What drove me to psychoanalysis It was – and still is - the desire to get to the bottom of ´things´ and look beneath the surface. Apart fromfinding pleasure in my work as a psychoanalyst, it was also my personal history that brought me to this profession. I grew up in a rather rough area, where transgenerational traumata play a major role, which presented themselves as irritating empty spaces in an atmosphere fraught with riddles. As a child, I observed my environment very closely and tried to make sense of these paradoxes. It was not until many years later that I was able to find the answers to my questions during my psychotherapy sciences studies and training analysis.


DWP: What fascinates you most about psychoanalysis?

Petra Roscheck: Above all, I am fascinated by the idea of unconscious, dynamic processes that control our lives. Equally exciting are the instruments offered by the psychoanalytic treatment as a way of trying to grasp the unconscious, as well as the fact that psychoanalysis is both a cultural theory and a psychotherapeutic method.


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

Petra Roscheck: I think the entire training was a challenge – Not a stone was left standing.It takes a certain love for the truth, because looking in the mirror while undergoing an analysis is not always flattering. It is necessary toalso allow regressive developments to take place. This requires courage and confidence in the psychoanalytic process and the person treating you. Thus, it´s important to have an analyst who can empathically support you, but also challenges you. Ultimately, the analysis should lead to self-autonomy.


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

Petra Roscheck: I would be interested in Freud´s revision of psychoanalytic theory as a whole. How would he incorporate the multiple alterations within modern families and relationships into psychoanalytic theory? What would he change about his concepts given today’s status quo of psychoanalytic theory? What would he writen in 2019?


DWP: Fabric or leather couch?

Petra Roscheck: I wonder what this says about the psychoanalyst. Currently, I have a Bordeaux-colored fabric couch ...


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?

Petra Roscheck: "The Emperor´s New Clothes" by Hans Christian Andersen. The courageous child, who -much like the psychoanalyst - shares his or her own perception without fear or a second thought, thus exposing the truth to the delusional masses.


DWP: I dream,….

Petra Roscheck: I dream that people treat each other with more benevolence andunderstanding instead of judgement and condemnation and that emotions needn’t be separated in our society.


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

Petra Roscheck: Ideally, a successful psychoanalytic treatment results in an autonomous, integer individual who can actively and consciously shape his or her life and society. I believe that psychoanalytic therapy can actually achieve that. Of course, intreatment, not everything can always be made conscious and worked through. The boundaries are negotiated in a dialogue between the analysand’s and the patient’s unconscious.

I think "Gegen die Normativität in der Psychoanalyse [N.T. Against normativity in psychoanalysis]" by Susann Heenen-Wolff offers a food for thought regarding the limits of psychoanalysis. The author criticizes the focus on the normative interpretation of various Freudian concepts that do not take into account the diversity of modern forms of love and life. The book questions the validity of concepts such as "Oedipus complex" and "mature genital sexuality".

As far as the public discourse is concerned, I would like to see an increase of psychoanalytic and psychoeducational knowledge in the media and in schools.


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

Petra Roscheck: I can do a lot with the basic attitude of psychoanalysis of "understanding" as opposed to "covering up" and condemning, as well as the deconstruction of existing thought patterns. What I perceive as dangerous is the abuse of power in treatment, rigidity, dogmatism and the prohibition of critical thinking.


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

Petra Roscheck: “But the frontier between states of mind described as normal and pathological is in part a conventional one and in part so fluctuating that each of us probably crosses it many times in the course of a day.” Freud, S. (1907a): Delusions And Dreams In Jensen´s Gradiva.


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


Contact information:
Petra Roscheck