On The Phenomenon Of Enttäuschung: A Rejoinder To Roy Schafer’s Psychoanalytic Formulation Of ‘Disappointment’ And ‘Disappointedness’

Abstract

This paper re-examines psychoanalytic formulations of disappointment. Using the philosophical insights of Karl Jaspers, I propose that existential analysis could more usefully focus on the phenomenon of Enttäuschung (disillusionment), the client’s confrontation with the reality of situations and the adoption of their attitude towards this.