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Evenly suspended attention
In psychoanalysis, evenly suspended attention is a form of analytical attention that is removed from both theoretical presuppositions and therapeutic goals. By not fixating on any particular part of the analysand's communication and allowing freedom of the unconscious, the analyst can mindfully benefit from the counterpart rule of free association, on the part of the analysand, to analyze their symptomatic patterns and behaviors.
It was originally proposed by Sigmund Freud in 1912, in his text "Recommendations to Physicians Practicing Psycho-Analysis".{{cite book
Later developments
Since Theodor Reik and his 1948 study Listening with the Third Ear, more analytic emphasis has been placed on the dialectic between evenly suspended attention, and the analyst's cognitive working-over of what they hear. The part played by countertransference and by the analyst's role responsiveness has also been highlighted.
References
References
- (1988). "Attention, (Evenly) Suspended or Poised". Karnac Books.
- J. R. Suler, ''Contemporary Psychoanalysis and Eastern Thought'' (1999) p. 131
- R. Oelsner ed. ''Transference and Countertransference Today'' (2013) p. 83
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