Trace and Transference: Therapy in a Post-Structuralist Era

As leader of the deconstruction movement, Jacques Derrida has had a profound effect on modern thinking. In this article, the author applies Derridean concepts to psychotherapy. Using the concepts of trace and differance, identity and therapeutic relationships are described. Transference and countertransference are regarded as traces, resulting in a breakdown of the therapist/patient dichotomy. Using the Derridean notion of “play” and “dissemination” opens psychotherapeutic options that allow the patient to explore how meaning is derived in his/her life. Questions of how feelings and behaviors are constructed are also examined. In summary, a deconstructive therapeutic approach results in an array of freedom and possibilities.