Psychoanalysis beyond the couch: psychoanalytic listening in urban spaces

This paper examines the setting proposed by a group of psychoanalysts attempting to adapt psychoanalytic work to the social realities of urban environments in Brasilia. Their work entailed a rethinking of the frame, taking into account the specificities of this urban context and the socio-political issues affecting its residents. The proposal involved an offer to listen within a context where unpredictability was an inherent part of the scenario: in the face of the urban environment's uncertainties, the collective of street psychoanalysts conceived of a frame which could ensure a measure of sustainability and reliability. Themes were identified and analyzed based on semi-structured interviews conducted by five participating analysts. Within this context, the idea of the analyst's internal framework was identified as key, since psychoanalytic practice outside of the classic framework forces the analyst to contend with varying and often ambiguous spatial, corporal, and sensorial boundaries, and with complex transferential dynamics, given that multiple analysts may be involved with a single patient.