For A Measure Of Opacity: Psychoanalysis In A Time Of Transparency – Rosmary Rizq
Transparency is deemed central to today’s democratic systems, institutions and services. Our insistence on open government, freedom of information and the public’s right to know privileges not only the visibility of information but also the visibility of the self. How might psychoanalytic practitioners think about and respond to the ever-increasing demand for transparency in the consulting room? This paper draws on the ideas of Derrida, Laplanche and Glissant to argue for what has been called ‘the right to opacity,’ suggesting that psychoanalytic counsellors and psychotherapists are particularly well-placed to offer a critical perspective on today’s culture of surveillance.
Rosemary Rizq, PhD. C. Psychol. AFBPsS. FHEA. is a UKCP accredited psychoanalytic psychotherapist and an HCPC registered Counselling Psychologist. She is Professor of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy at the University of Roehampton and has worked for many years in the NHS, most recently as an Adult Psychotherapist in North-East London Foundation Trust’s Forest House Psychotherapy Clinic. She now has a part-time private practice in West London. Rosemary was Submissions Editor for Psychodynamic Practice from 2004-2010, is a reviewer for a number of academic journals and she has published widely on issues related to organisational dynamics and psychotherapeutic training and practice.