Blocking

the basis of the blocking generally lies in the significance the blocked chain of thought has for the patient. Conversely, in a patient about whom we do not know very much, one can conclude from the appearance of blocking that we have struck upon one of his important complexes.

Bleuler argues that blocking in schizophrenia is not random but complex-determined, functioning as a reliable clinical indicator of psychically significant material.

Bleuler, Eugen, Dementia Praecox or the Group of Schizophrenias, 1911thesis

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When processing of the initial target is unsuccessful, the clinician should look for negative beliefs that are blocking progress… Until that identified negative cognition (the ‘blocking belief’) i

Shapiro introduces the technical concept of ‘blocking beliefs’ — negative cognitions that halt EMDR information-processing and must themselves be targeted before therapeutic progress can resume.

Shapiro, Francine, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): Basic Principles, Protocols, and Procedures, 2001thesis

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of thinking appears to stand in direct contrast to ‘blocking’ or the arrest of thought. Frequently, we can observe that both these phenomena appear together.

Bleuler identifies blocking as the polar counterpart to pressure of thought, noting their paradoxical co-occurrence as a distinctive feature of schizophrenic mentality.

Bleuler, Eugen, Dementia Praecox or the Group of Schizophrenias, 1911thesis

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If the VOC does not progress above a 5 or 6, he is asked, ‘What prevents it from being a 7?’ The client will generally be able to report the blocking belief, whic

Shapiro operationalizes the blocking belief by its measurable effect on the VOC scale, establishing a clinical procedure for its detection during the installation phase of EMDR.

Shapiro, Francine, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): Basic Principles, Protocols, and Procedures, 2001supporting

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emotions can be induced indirectly, and the inducer can produce its result in a somewhat negative fashion, by blocking the progress of an ongoing emotion.

Damasio proposes that blocking an ongoing emotion can itself function as an emotional inducer, as when thwarted approach behavior generates frustration and anger.

Damasio, Antonio R., The Feeling of What Happens: Body and Emotion in the Making of Consciousness, 1999supporting

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blocking the synthesis of new protein during a critical period — that is, during and shortly after learning — blocks both the growth of new synaptic connections and the conversion from short- to long-term memory.

Kandel demonstrates at the molecular level that blocking protein synthesis during the consolidation window prevents the synaptic growth necessary for long-term memory formation.

Kandel, Eric R., In search of memory the emergence of a new science of mind, 2006supporting

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Mo chih ch’u is the mind functioning without blocks, without ‘wobbling’ between alternatives, and much of Zen training consists in confronting the student with dilemmas which he is expected to handle without stopping to deliberate and ‘choose.’

Watts frames blocking as the mind’s spontaneity-interrupting hesitation between alternatives, which Zen training targets by demanding response with the immediacy of unreflective action.

Watts, Alan, The Way of Zen, 1957supporting

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blocking and, 35; egocentricity of, 384, in dementia, 75, 76; intelligence and, 38, 63

The index of Bleuler’s monograph cross-references blocking with complexes, confirming its systematic conceptual integration within the broader theory of schizophrenic symptomatology.

Bleuler, Eugen, Dementia Praecox or the Group of Schizophrenias, 1911aside

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