TY - BOOK AU - Eiguer,Alberto TI - The Witness in Psychoanalysis and in Psychoanalytic Family Therapy PY - 2013///. N1 - 43 N2 - In this paper, the author discusses the place and function of witnesses in law, history, philosophy, individual, and family psychoanalysis as well as children as witnesses of violence in the parental couple, etc. In therapy, the function of the therapist as a witness opens up interesting perspectives. The witness is another subject. His function in reality recalls the link to the other whose role as a spokesman for the law is, if very obvious, not always essential: he can bear witness that something has happened. For the witness, this function regularly creates a circular pattern because of its subjectivity and a psychic elaboration, and this leads to his integration into identity. And to bear witness is not as radical as giving testimony which creates a deeper personal commitment. However, narrative plays a primordial function. In a family where deviant associations are more particularly at work, the witness appears as a subject different from the deviant or the victim, or the victim's accomplice. The thought of witnesses helps further the analysis of these connections. To the deviant, a witness is somebody who should remain passive, powerless, and horrified by the transgressions committed. The analyst is also sought out to become a biased witness to the deviant's deeds. However, the analyst can become an active witness, which helps reverse this trend, and helps him regain his listening function. To better define the analyst UR - https://shs.cairn.info/journal-de-la-psychanalyse-de-l-enfant-2012-2-page-557?lang=en ER -