The Theater of the Unconscious Mind

After comprehensively reviewing models of unconscious structure from Freud to Mitchell, the author explores how using analogies to theater or drama for explaining the unconscious benefits the psychoanalytic project in 2 distinct ways: They offer metaphors that transcend differences between long-conflicting theoretical models; they allow for comprehensive methods of interpretation encompassing myriad perspectives on the unconscious. These theatrical analogies invite disparate perspectives on unconscious—structure, process, dynamism, or even primitive, disorganized components—into integrative tales or stories. They add flesh to the bones of experience-distant concepts like recurring intersubjective patterns or nonlinear dynamic systems. The author discusses how frequently psychoanalytic scholars, even of differing theoretical orientations, make consistent references to “internal dramas.” She [or he] presents 3 clinical examples to illustrate the theoretical and clinical usefulness of theatrical analogies. Finally, the author’s concluding remarks synthesize the theses presented and further validate how such analogies contribute to achieving a more integrative, cohesive vision for the psychoanalysis of the 21st century.