Repetition & Isolation of a Symptomatic Element.

From Analysis Laid Bare, By Jacques-Alain Miller.

Let us introduce her a little dialectic [...] It is because there is the obstacle that there is repetition, but it is because there is repetition the obstacle is perceived and isolated. (p. 14)

---

What I think Miller is getting at is that when people are in analysis, they often talk about a particular obstacle they are facing. They will bring this obstacle up again and again. The analyst may present it as if it were a different obstacle, but the analyst will (hopefully) be able to see that it is the same obstacle dressed up in various outfits. This is the analyst perceiving and isolating the obstacle as a symptom.

One way to describe a symptom is the repeated encounter with the obstacle, even though the analyst often believes they are trying to avoid the obstacle.