Growing Through the Erotic Transference: An Analysand’s Journey

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 countertransference. 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 specializes in leadership development, culture change and engagement strategies for international organizations going through major transformations. She has lived in 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.