Hannah Siegel's Research On Psychoanalysis

Hanna Segal (1918-2011) is an internationally famous psychoanalyst, one of representatives of post-Kleinian school, a prominent explainer and communicator of Klein's ideas. Over a career of more than 60 years, she has made fundamental and original contributions for psychoanalytic theories, practice and application. In terms of theory, she puts forward the concept of "symbolic equation" which distinguishing from the real symbol, refers to the primary form of symbolism and concrete thinking characteristic of psychoses. She elaborates the development of unconscious phantasy, and emphasizes the significant role that the interplay between phantasy and reality plays in shaping our perception and characters. Also, she re-examines Freud's theory about dreams and claims creatively that analysts should interpret the function of dreams along with their content. In terms of clinical practice, Segal uses a strictly psychoanalytic approach to treat a schizophrenic patient for the first time. She is also the pioneer of analysing elderly patients with psychoanalytic treatment. Besides, she emphasizes the clinical usefulness of the concept of the death instinct, and declares that the death drive seeks not only to annihilate the objects which are perceived, but also the perceiving self. As far as the psychoanalytic applied areas, Segal explores deeply extensive themes such as artistic creativity, aesthetic experience, nuclear arms race, wars, and terrorism. She claims that artists'creativity arises out of working-through the depressive position called by Klein and the desire to restore their destroyed internal world with the help of their works of art.Segal's contributions primarily cover explaining and communicating the ideas of Kleinian school, promoting the theoretical development of Kleinian school, expanding the field of application of psychoanalysis in clinical practice, extending the range of psychoanalysis into other areas. The main limitations of her theory lie in failing to coming up with a set of systematical psychoanalytic theories and techniques, a few of thoughts remaining disputes. In addition, Segal has had a deep and lasting impact on inside and outside of psychoanalysis such as art and socio-political etc areas.