Reiz und Elend der cremefarbenen Couch

Psychoanalysis is perhaps the most personal, most intimate thing a human being can experience. The author of this volume reports on the successful psychoanalytic treatment of her own eating diseases stemming from childhood.The protagonists of this story are Max Hirtberg, the psychoanalyst, the author as well as the “artist” – the mental spin-off of the eating disorder itself.This tale documents the psychoanalytic treatment from the first to the final session. It is based on notes recorded after the respective session as well as on the author’s contemplations between sessions. At first, the reader is confronted by a number of flashbacks and descriptive passages, but as time goes on the dialogue between the psychoanalyst and the author gains in importance. In the end, the recollections and depictions of present scenes come to dominate the narrative. Benja Thieme has written a fascinating protocol of her own healing process, which serves to provide other afflicted persons and their analysts with new insights into the ways of eating disorders.