Erik Erikson’s Place in Relational Psychoanalysis: Discussion of “Some Thoughts on Trust and Betrayal”

Abstract

This paper is a response to Sheldon Bach’s (this issue) “Some Thoughts on Trust and Betrayal.” The author applauds Bach’s attention to this crucial continuum and relates it to life’s most fundamental issue as described by Erik Erikson: Basic Trust versus Basic Mistrust. This primal life cycle stage can be the birthplace of serious psychopathology, or healthy resilience. Not only is Erikson Identity’s Architect, he is also the architect of Relational Identity. He focused both on trusting/mistrusting others and on trusting/distrusting one’s self. Emphasizing mutuality of relaxation, reciprocity, and mutual regulation, as opposed to control by duress, and the role of sociocultural and historical context, Erikson anticipated constructs that have become central to the Relational perspective. Like Ferenczi, Bowlby, and others who in some ways did not fit smoothly into the prevailing psychoanalytic culture, Erikson merits a place of honor in the Relational tradition.