Transference in the educational link with teenagers. An interpretation from psychoanalysis

Abstract

In its early days, Psychoanalysis built a clinical work device called transference. Several of Freud’s disciples in the early twentieth century applied this device to the education of children and adolescents on school approaches and on social practices. August Aichhorn, one of its advocates, sustained that transference allowed for the understanding of the subjective and social discomfort of current ties that have their origin in previous experiences. His work provided clues to analyze the results of a thesis completed in 2015. This article covers some central aspects of the treatment carried out with young people, who are conceived as in need of assistance and care. By analyzing stories of teachers working with adolescents in middle schools, this paper aims to articulate the voices of teachers under the light of their work with today’s adolescents, while returning to Aichhorn’s assumptions, which are valid today. Transference helps us (re) think the connections established between adults and young people especially in the field of education.