Between stops and movements: a theoretical review of silence in psychoanalysis

Abstract

Silence presents many forms within a clinical context, specific to each case and presenting in different ways during the analytical process. This theoretical review of the psychoanalytic literature on silence seeks to push forward psychoanalysis reflections about silence imbued with the power of movement and a creative function. Silence in clinical psychoanalysis can be considered from the perspective of the patient, the analyst, or the relationship, i.e., its intersubjective aspect. A review of the word “silence” within Freud’s work allows us to reflect on the intrinsic but supporting presence of silence in psychoanalysis since its origins , expanding the understanding of silence beyond resistance. It clarifies the productive and potent aspects of this concept in psychoanalysis and the analytical process.