The Usefulness of Mimetic Theory in Clinical Practice (or cocktail parties)

Interdividual Psychology and The Puppet of Desire: Revisited, Revered, Revised - and Applied

Presenters: Jean-Michel Oughourlian, Tom Pace and Rusty Palmer

Twenty years ago in Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World Rene Girard and Jean-Michel Oughourlian (together with Guy Lefort) introduced  Interdividual Psychology, the first major attempt to formally apply Mimetic theory to psychology. This was followed several years later by Oughourlian's Puppet of Desire, in which he traces the influence of one human upon another in primitive practices of sorcery and magic. In modern times there have been numerous attempts to define human psychology, human motivation, and human desire, as well as their causes and interrelationships. We believe that Mimetic theory does this best, but that it needs to be situated and understood in relation to prevailing theories of psychological and personality development, which have their own accounts of intra-personal experience and interpersonal relations.

Mimetic theory is applicable to the field of psychotherapy. It has consistencies with a number of theories already relied upon in the practice of psychotherapy, and in some ways is superior. Certain commonalities (and contrasts) have been established in the works of Girard and Oughourlian, but for the most part only in relation to the earliest theories of psychoanalysis. We will demonstrate a complementary relation between Mimetic theory and Object Relations theory, probably the most influential
of the more current perspectives.

In this workshop Jean-Michel Oughourlian will team up with Rusty Palmer and Tom Pace ( two teachers of a group of psychotherapists from Seattle who have been studying the uses of Mimetic theory) to (1) show the relevancy of
Mimetic theory to more recent therapeutic models, (2) engage participants in exercises designed to provide a subjective understanding of the 'interdividual relationship,' and (3) demonstrate some clinical implications and applications through role plays of clinical situations.
 

Workshop Design

Phase One: The Absolute Fact of the Interdividual Relation. Background information, premises and nomenclature for both Mimetic theory and Object Relations theory, with some effort to make each more readily understandable to the audience, and some attention to the differences between the two.

Phase Two: Modest experiential exercises establishing the originary and on-going necessity of mimesis and the Interdividual relationship.

Phase Three: Role-plays of clinical situations to allow participants to observe the mimetic and interdividual processes in action via attempts by clients to influence the therapist, and vice-versa. The emphasis will be on observation and description (no efforts to demonstrate corrective or healing interventions at deep levels will occur.)