Psychoanalytic view on the unconscious meanings of assisted reproductive technologies

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17072/2078-7898/2021-3-395-404

Psychoanalytic view on the unconscious meanings of assisted reproductive technologies

Vsevolod A. Agarkov
Candidate of Psychology, Sciences Researcher,
Clinical Psychologist, Psychoanalyst

Institute of Psychology of Russian Academy of Sciences,
13, Yaroslavskaya str., Moscow, 129366, Russia;
e-mail: agargor@yandex.ru
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6405-744X
ResearcherID: AAW-5721-2021

The article analyzes the internal mental dynamics of people involved in the processes of assisted reproductive technologies (ART). According to psychoanalytic theory, unconscious fantasies and meanings play an important role in these dynamics. The sources of these fantasies could be traced down to both intrapsychic conflicts and deficits of the individual and pressure of society. When working with patients in a psychodynamic way, it is important to take into account the socio-economic context, which in the modern world is largely set by the global economy of neoliberalism. Ignoring this context, as well as ignoring the significance of important events in the patient’s life history, usually leads to the collusion between the analyst and the patient in a «perverse» pact. Biomedicine of fertility has become a constitutive part of the neoliberal ethos. Within the framework of the global economy, conditions have been created for the commodification and fragmentation of the female and male reproductive bodies. However, despite the inclusion of gametes in the free exchange of goods, they are not stripped from personal meaning or affectively neutral. Tissue exchanges during ART procedures, in addition to the fact that they act as an element of technological chains, carry relational and social meanings. Gamete donation, even with the conscious acceptance of new social structures of reproduction and parenthood in adulthood, can activate the unconscious fantasy of an illegal «triple alliance» and the unconscious conflicts associated with it. Egg donation, in addition to an ethical dilemma, is fraught with confusion of parental identity and a sense of belonging to a social group. Myths rank high in the psychoanalytic theory of development among its other core constructs. They are considered as an important element of learning through experience. The article discusses the plots of myths about childbirth in the context of ART practices.

Keywords: psychoanalysis, psychoanalytic psychotherapy, assisted reproductive technologies (ART), neoliberal ethos, splitting, narcissistic trauma, identity, transference.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project № 20-011-00609 «Procreation: fundamental and applied aspects of socio-cultural norms — the language of interdisciplinary discourse».

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Received: 01.08.2021. Accepted: 31.08.2021

For citation:

Agarkov V.A. [Psychoanalytic view on the unconscious meanings of assisted reproductive technologies]. Vestnik Permskogo universiteta. Filosofia. Psihologia. Sociologia [Perm University Herald. Philosophy. Psychology. Sociology], 2021, issue 3, pp. 395–404 (in Russian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.17072/2078-7898/2021-3-395-404