On family secrets and -K

In this paper I present a novel interpretation of family secrets. Leaning on Bion's concept of -K, the constitution of secrecy is interpreted in terms of family dynamics that actively prevent knowledge formation and mental growth. Family secrets are interpreted as a destructive process that attacks the family's truth-generating-space - the shared semiotic space within which meanings are constituted through family relationships. The paper explores the microstructure interpersonal process of -K through the analysis of Mike Leigh's movie, Secrets and Lies. Two scenes in the movie are used to demonstrate how -K is worked out in the form of a specific intersubjective semiotic endeavor that unconsciously blocks the process of meaning-making.