“A very fine piece of work, opening up how Moore’s erotic life was able to unfold in her analysis. Delicately and at the same time passionately told, this is a valuable picture into therapy from an analysand’s experience.” Susie Orbach, author of Fat is a Feminist Issue (1978), The Impossibility of Sex (2000) and ten other books on psychoanalysis; Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature; and recipient of Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Psychoanalytic Society “This is an impressive book by Frances Moore. With an authoritative voice she gives an honest account of the patient’s experience of the frustrations and the benefits of the erotic transference in psychotherapy. With a rare and valuable insight from the patient’s point of view she gives both a lively and a well-researched expression of the therapeutic process as it is lived and understood.” David Mann, author of Psychotherapy – An Erotic Relationship: Transference and Countertransference Passions (1997); editor of Erotic Transference and Countertransference: Clinical Practice in Psychotherapy (1999) and Love and Hate: Psychoanalytic Perspectives (2002); and psychoanalytic psychotherapist in Tunbridge Wells “This is a story of the ever-present erotic dimension of analysis and how it transforms and intensifies lived experience. Though a layperson – thankfully! – Moore wrestles with complicated themes, e.g., how different forms of erotic transferences can defend against one another, coexist (background sensuality and sexual desire) and ultimately promote growth. With precise and truthful articulation, Moore describes erotic love as the basis of elemental passions and human core vitality. This is a story of how a woman becomes receptive to her own potency, learning to harness her power and beauty. Through her eyes, we also experience a calm and unafraid analyst willing to go the distance. Anyone doubting the usefulness of erotic transferences as an essential transformational power should read this book.” Andrea Celenza, author of Erotic Revelations (2014), Sexual Boundary Violations (2007) and Transference, Love, Being: Essential Essays from the Field (2022); training and supervising analyst, Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute Growing Through the Erotic Transference The book offers an in-depth case study of the erotic transference experienced by a female analysand with her male analyst, exploring how the shifting phases of erotic transference help the analysand to understand, rediscover and redefine herself with transformative growth. The first half of the book tells the story of the analysis, which is richly imbued with the erotic from the beginning. It describes the complexity of the relationship between analyst and analysand and how the patient is able to grow through experiencing, analysing and progressing through the erotic transference. The second half of the book consists of five reflections, highlighting relative blind spots in the current thinking on the erotic transference and counter-transference. The author explores the dynamics of power, potency and erotic turn-on between male analyst and female analysand and considers the implications for the erotic transference when the patient is a sexual abuse survivor. She also explores the nature of ‘transference love’ itself: whether it is ‘real love’ and how both members of the dyad can surrender to it enough to grow, while not losing their bearings. The final reflection considers the role of the patient’s voice in the psychoanalytic literature and argues the need for more of such accounts to enrich our understanding of this vital area. Writing as the patient, the author is able to share a remarkable, frank and revealing glimpse into their personal experience of analysis, making this book essential reading for psychoanalysts, psychotherapists and anyone interested in understanding analysis in more depth. Frances H. Moore first graduated as a performing musician from one of the major music conservatoires before gaining a Masters and a PhD in Anthropology of Music as a scholar at an Ivy League University. Her first published academic book is based on this PhD. After transitioning to work in International Business, she completed an Executive MBA. She now specialises in leadership development, culture change and engagement strategies for international organisations going through major transformations. She has lived on three continents and has worked in over 20 countries. Moore is passionate about helping others grow and find their full voices – in particular, girls and women. She was a volunteer teacher for a year in Africa and continues to mentor and train for young people’s organisations. She was founding trustee/executive board member for two women’s charities. She has written and published three children’s books with brave, strong girl characters to counteract the passive princess stereotypes of the traditional tales. In the wake of her own marriage breakdown, the ‘quest for voice’ became deeply personal. As an analysand, she immersed herself in the experience of analysis and voraciously absorbed the psychoanalytic literature as she followed her own transformative path. Her powerful experiences of the erotic transference are chronicled in this book. The author is publishing this book under an adjusted name, to respect the privacy of her family. Routledge Focus on Mental Health Routledge Focus on Mental Health presents short books on current topics, linking in with cutting-edge research and practice. Titles in the series: Working with Interpreters in Psychological Therapy The Right to be Understood Jude Boyles and Nathalie Talbot Psychoanalysis and Euripides’ Suppliant Women A Tragic Reading of Politics Sotiris Manolopoulos The Gifts We Receive from Animals Stories to Warm the Heart Lori R. Kogan James Joyce and the Internal World of the Replacement Child Mary Adams Analytic Listening in Clinical Dialogue Basic Assumptions Dieter Bürgin, Angelika Staehle, Kerstin Westhoff, and Anna Wyler von Ballmoos Treatment for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors An Integrative Psychodynamic Approach Stacy K. Nakell Growing Through the Erotic Transference An Analysand’s Journey Frances H. Moore For a full list of titles in this series, please visit www.routledge.com/ Routledge-Focus-on-Mental-Health/book-series/RFMH. Growing Through the Erotic Transference An Analysand’s Journey Frances H. Moore First published 2023 by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 Frances H. Moore The right of Frances H. Moore to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Moore, Frances H. (Pseudonym), author. Title: Growing through the erotic transference : an analysand’s journey / Frances H. Moore. Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2023. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2022020118 (print) | LCCN 2022020119 (ebook) | ISBN 9781032353982 (hardback) | ISBN 9781032353999 (paperback) | ISBN 9781003326700 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Moore, Frances H. (Pseudonym)—Mental health. | Psychotherapy—Erotic aspects—Case studies. | Transference (Psychology)—Case studies. | Countertransference (Psychology)— Case studies. | Psychotherapist and patient—Case studies. | Women analysands—Biography. Classification: LCC RC489.E75 M66 2023 (print) | LCC RC489.E75 (ebook) | DDC 616.89/14—dc23/eng/20220601 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022020118 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022020119 ISBN: 978-1-032-35398-2 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-032-35399-9 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-32670-0 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003326700 Typeset in Times New Roman by Apex CoVantage, LLC To my loved ones, who made me who I am. To the power of excellent, high-integrity psychoanalysis, which made me even better. And to women and girls, in their quest to find themselves and their voices. Contents Introduction: growing through the erotic transference 1 PART 1 The story 7 Meeting 9 Testing power and potency 10 Seduction 18 Penetration 20 Birth 25 Father 28 Mother 32 Reparenting 35 Unleashing desire 38 Female potency 44 Lifting my foot to leap 47 Leaving home 50 Rage 53 Teasing! 56 Growing beyond the room 59