Unconscious Enactments in Psychotherapy

Abstract

<p>Two years after the tragedy of 9/11, officials at Dulles Airport conducted an experiment to improve security. Borrowing techniques from the U.S. Customs Service and Israeli airports, they studied the nonverbal behavior of passengers as they entered the airport and stood in line at the security checkpoint. Scott McHugh, who directed the program at Dulles, had studied the videos of the 9/11 terrorists and noted a number of nonverbal signs that would have caused concern among security officers at the airports used by the hijackers. They failed to make eye contact, hesitated to answer questions in a direct manner, and exhibited other physiological signs of stress.</p> <h4>ABOUT THE AUTHOR</h4> <p>Glen O. Gabbard, MD, is Brown Foundation Chair of Psychoanalysis and Professor of Psychiatry, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.</p> <p>Address correspondence to Glen O. Gabbard, MD, 6655 Travis, Suite 500, Houston, TX 77030; fax 713-798-7984; or email <A href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>. The author disclosed no relevant financial relationships.</p> <h4>EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES</h4> <ol> <li>Relate the clinical signifi cance of non-verbal communications in psychotherapy.</li> <li>Assess the research that demonstrates how unconscious affect states infl uence motor behavior.</li> <li>Describe the neurobiological underpinnings of unconscious enactments.</li> </ol>