Object Relations Theory Research Articles

Comments on Otto Kernberg’s “Some implications of new developments in neurobiology for psychoanalytic object relations theory”

Comments on Otto Kernberg’s “Some implications of new developments in neurobiology for psychoanalytic object relations theory”

Museum of Charms and Fetish Objects in Nigeria

On the assumption, upon which perception may be considered as an associative integration of available memory pictures or archetypes as universal thought forms, the deep ecological, cross-cultural and holistic approach is conceived for two complementary areas of research: 1) contemplations about the anthropological traits of imagination, symbolic meanings of museum objects, culture, archetype image symbols and induced associations; 2) meditation on the notion of man in the language and culture of Igbo people in Nigeria, and group visual art expression. These contents are discussed with reference to some knowledge in archetypology, neuroscience, semiotics, fine and other arts, psychoanalysis, sophrology, museology and other related areas. Culture is considered as a way of life which embraces the customs and beliefs, arts, rituals, mentality, religious leaning of the people and historically transmitted patterns of symbols. Three subjects, who graduated in philosophy and/or theology at the Nigerian University, were involved in these activities. Their role in the research workshops extended to that of active participants as listeners, observers and researchers. Museum collections are considered as traditional religious objects, as artistic or ornamental objects, as charms and fetish objects. In a broader sense, and with a review on psychoanalytic theory of object relations and other related areas, some contemplation is shown about the complex history and meaning of the word charms, fetish and related terms, and about creativity, beliefs and human coping mechanisms with various problem areas. In this context, the importance of the catalytic role of education and the heritage mission of the Nigerian museum is highlighted. Research activities were carried out in the Museum of Charms and Fetish Objects in Main Campus of Madonna University and National Pilgrimage Centre in Elele, Nigeria.

The Thinking Fetus: Descartes at the Brink of Psychoanalysis

Abstract Descartes’s philosophy of the passions is central for an understanding of seventeenth-century ideas of affects and emotions and for the history of emotions overall. But does it have bearing today? In this article, I argue that Descartes raises the question of how the infantile relation to the maternal body influences the emotional life of the adult, a question that is still relevant for psychoanalysis and neuropsychology. In the philosophical scholarship on Descartes, the passages which pertain to the infant, or the fetus, and its alleged ‘confused thought’, are often quoted to demonstrate the challenges to dualism that are inherent in his own writings. However, I argue that these discussions point also to the complexity of the development of affects and emotions. In my reading, I show that Descartes’s ideas of the passions can be seen as precursory to psychoanalytic theories of object relations. This opens the way for a new trajectory of research involving fantasy, instincts and repression in the Cartesian analysis of emotions and affects.

Manipulative Capacity in the application of the Comparison mechanism

The article presents some theoretical justifications and some features of the origin of the comparison mechanism. Some areas of the practical application of the comparison mechanism were also presented, and the main manipulative intentions were analyzed. The theoretical part considers and analyzes the problems and features of the development of a comparison mechanism. In particular, the Adler theory is analyzed. The author substantiates the fact that the basis of the comparison mechanism originates in early childhood. In this process, a particular role and significance is the fact of comparison with siblings. The theory of object relations is also considered a theoretical basis, especially regarding the psychological structure of the narcissistic personality. In this context, the psychoanalytic approach is regarded as a profound basis for forming a psychological comparison mechanism and later becomes a stable behavioural pattern. The correlation between the emergence of the psychological comparison mechanism and the influence of the individual's environment is also theoretically justified. The formed behavioural pattern becomes the basis for subsequent manipulations in the field of social psychology. In particular, the concept of a reference group is when an individual compares himself with members of his group and groups of opponents. In this case, using this mechanism, you can build the foundations of national identity and, as an additional tactic using the mechanism of depreciation. In marketing, a manipulative comparison mechanism is used to influence the self-image. In this case, a particular consumer is identified with this image by comparing himself to the advertising image. In the political and marketing spheres, manipulative use of the comparison mechanism can be found very often. The phenomenon of manipulation in this context concerns the concept of intention. The main manipulative intention is the desire to devalue. In politics, devaluation is often used, and in marketing, dominance is used. In the context of the latter, appropriate language is used. The manipulative use of the comparison mechanism is considered in the example of the discursive practices of representatives of individual political elites. In the political sphere, in using the comparison mechanism, the intention of devaluation, narcissistic comparison is mainly used. This process can particularly be seen when comparing the speech of the President of Georgia with the statement of the President of Ukraine. Using the example of President Zelensky's statement, one can see the use of a symbolic image, which provides even greater power of manipulative influence on one's audience. In marketing and advertising, the comparison mechanism is combined with the demonstration of the advantages of your own product compared to others.

Mirror, Mirror: Freud and the Reversible Self-Object Dyad.

Freud is often negatively contrasted with object relations and relational theorists for holding to a metapsychology in which drives are understood as innate and predetermined in their development, are thought to follow the pleasure principle in a "hydraulic" manner, and are not seen as influenced by real objects. While that theory is certainly one dimension of Freud's thinking, it is paralleled by another, quite different model positing a "mirror" relation in which affectively charged reversible self-object dyads, as opposed to purely internal dynamics, are the constituent elements of mental life. This view, more compatible with theories placing greater emphasis on the constitutive role of self-object relations, may further the reconciliation of Freudian and object-relational theories.

Some implications of new developments in neurobiology for psychoanalytic object relations theory

ABSTRACT This paper proposes that the primary motivational systems are affect systems, and that libido and aggression represent secondary developments of affect integration. Drives still derive ultimately from neurobiology but are organized and represented in unconscious conflicts between love and aggression expressed in internalized affect-invested object relations. Regarding the development of the dynamic unconscious, conflicts between love and aggression are originally conscious in the context of the primary activation of affect systems in the relation between self and other (mother), but their traces remain only in the behavior patterns, and fragmented affects if extremely traumatic circumstances prevail. Ordinarily, these conflicts are assimilated into a second stage of splitting mechanisms, and if fixated at that stage, expressed as the borderline personality organization. In a normal third stage, identity integration evolves, with the predominance of repressive mechanisms, the establishment of the tripartite intrapsychic structure, and a truly consolidated dynamic unconscious. This paper concludes with an outline of the therapeutic implications of this developmental sequence of intrapsychic organizations.

The possible impact of animals on Job’s body image: A psychoanalytical perspective

The body plays an important role in the book of Job – as do animals. According to psychoanalytical specifically object-relations theory, a subjective body image was partly constructed through the internalisation of external stimuli from significant others who mirrored the subject through their feedback or through their own bodies, which served as an ideal or critique to the subject. Amongst the external stimuli, animals constitute such significant others. Animals could therefore have impacted Job’s subjective body image, particularly as their bodies were described in detail by God as a response to Job’s complaints and searching.Contribution: Two theoretical and interrelated problems were acknowledged although they cannot be satisfactorily solved: the cultural aspect of the body image and the relationship to animals.

Reformulated Object Relations Theory: A Bridge Between Clinical Psychoanalysis, Psychotherapy Integration, and the Understanding and Treatment of Suicidal Depression.

In contrast to the fruitful relationship between psychoanalysis/psychoanalysts and the humanities, institutionalized psychoanalysis has been largely resistant to the integration of psychoanalysis with other empirical branches of knowledge (infant observation, psychotherapy research, psychological and neurobiological sciences), as well as clinical ones [primarily cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)]. Drawing from two decades of theoretical and empirical work on psychopathology, psychotherapy, and psychoanalysis, the author aims to show how a reformulation of object relations theory (RORT) using (neuro-)psychological science may enhance a clinical-psychoanalytic understanding and treatment of suicidal depression, which constitutes one of the most formidable health challenges of our time. Specifically, he rewrote the notion of Melanie Klein positions—primarily the depressive position—using extant knowledge of structure of emotions, the centrality of mental representations of the future (“prospection”) and the toxic nature of criticism-based emotions. This reformulation enables a dialog between clinical psychoanalysis and other therapeutic schools of thought and sheds light on the understanding and treatment of suicidal depression.

The Psychoanalyst As Revolutionary

By comparing psychoanalytic transformational processes to political revolutions, the author advances the psychoanalytic project in several ways. The analogy extends British object relations theory by elaborating upon Fairbairn's (1952) observation that psychoanalysts arduously compete with their patients' devotions to their internal worlds. In essence, he argues, and by exploiting the ‘mutual but asymmetrical’ (Aron, 1991) intimacy of the psychoanalytic dyad, psychoanalysts foment change in individuals like revolutionaries alter governments. The comparison to political revolutions also highlights how changes in the behaviour of other persons in patients' lives are necessary for transformation. Clinical insurgencies, when successful, alter patients' intra‐psychic structures, interpersonal relationships, and overall behavioural patterns. The paper includes two case examples, one a successful revolution and the other not, as illustrations.

The Somatic Symptom as One's Object: Applying Fairbairn's Theory of Internal Object Relations and Winnicott's Conceptualization of the Psyche-and-Soma.

The author discusses Winnicott's theory (1949/1975) of the psyche-soma and Fairbairn's (1944) theory of internal object relations, bringing them together to enrich our perspective of one's somatization. By focusing on how the patient takes care, attends, experiences, and feels toward the symptom, the analyst can better understand the patient's early object-relations. This allows analyst and patient to rethink the symptom in terms of the patient's early traumas and one's capacity to mourn the loss of the love-object. Fairbairn's conceptualizations of the "rejecting," "alluring," and "addictive" object-relations are combined with Winnicott's understanding of the split between psyche and soma, following the ill-adaptation of the mother to the baby's earliest emotional needs.

Exploring the experiences of mental health professionals engaged in the adoption of mobile health technology in Irish mental health services

BackgroundThe World Health Organization report that an estimated 793,000 people died by suicide in 2016 globally. The use of digital technology has been found to be beneficial in the delivery of Web-based suicide prevention interventions. Research on the integration of digital technology within mental health services has indicated that despite the proliferation of technology, engagement by patients and professionals in adopting such technology can be poor.ObjectivesThe current study aims to explore the experiences of 15 mental health professionals involved in integrating mobile health technology into their practice. A secondary aim was to identify the drivers and barriers to the adoption of such technology by mental health professionals, and to consider what theoretical models could best account for the data.MethodsSemi-structured interviews, conducted from July to October 2019, were used to explore the experiences of mental health professionals engaged in the adoption of mobile health technology within mental health services. Mental Health professionals and clinician managers working in HSE Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Adult Mental Health, and Primary Care Psychology services were recruited for the study. Qualitative interview data was transcribed and analysed using NVivo. Thematic Analysis was used to identify themes.ResultsFour major themes were identified: Accessibility, ‘Transitional Object’, Integration, and Trust. Within these 4 major themes, a total of 9 subthemes were identified: Service Accessibility, Immediate Access, Client Engagement, Adjunct-to-therapy, Therapeutic Relationship, Infrastructural Support, Enhancing Treatment, Trust in the Technology, Trust in the Organisation.ConclusionsOverall, Diffusion of Innovation Theory provides a useful theoretical framework which is consistent with and can adequately account for many of the Major and Subthemes identified in the data. In addition, ‘Transitional Objects’, a key concept within Object Relations Theory, could offer a means of better understanding how patients and professionals engage with digital technology within mental health services particularly.

Incalculably Diffusive

Incalculably Diffusive

Challenges for the Future of Psychoanalysis.

This paper summarizes the current crisis of psychoanalysis in its relations to the scientific and cultural environment. It proposes tasks to assure the survival and contributions of psychoanalysis as science, profession, and humanistic discipline. It proposes emphasis on empirical research in the boundaries with the neurosciences and social psychology, and the development of an infrastructure for research linked to its educational program. It proposes renovation in training, abolishment of the training analysis system, and systematic teaching and research on the psychoanalytic psychotherapies focused on specific pathologies. This overall proposal stresses the need to collaborate and potentially integrate psychoanalytic institutions within university settings, and the development of active interdisciplinary engagements with other sciences and the community at large. Finally, it stresses the role of contemporary object relations theory to reunify the presently diverging schools of psychoanalytic theory and technique.

Contemporary psychological perspectives of personality disorders.

The aim of this study was to review the recent literature on contemporary psychological perspectives of personality disorders, including novel psychotherapeutic interventions aimed at these vulnerable individuals. Among the various psychological theories and models of personality disorders, still the most popular and researched are psychodynamic, cognitive and interpersonal perspectives. More specifically, object relations theory, cognitive schema conceptualization and interpersonal circumplex model have produced the most empirical investigations of personality disorders in recent years. Latest work has suggested that all three perspectives have contributed to and are compatible with the dimensional personality disorders framework in DSM-5-AMPD and ICD-11 (including level of personality functioning and personality traits). These models have yielded specific psychological treatments of personality disorders; although most psychotherapies have been constructed for patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD), there is an increasing number of treatment modalities aimed at individuals with other forms of personality disorder, such as those with narcissistic or antisocial traits/disorders. More research into their effectiveness and long-term benefits is necessary. Novel research keeps updating our knowledge on the cause, manifestations and psychological treatments of personality disorders, particularly from psychodynamic, cognitive and interpersonal perspectives.

The relationship between literature and psychoanalysis: reflections on object relations theory, researcher's subjectivity, and transference in psychoanalytic literary criticism

ABSTRACT From its beginning, psychoanalysis has taken an interest in literature –as a field to study and seek inspiration. How can literature and psychoanalysis enrich and illuminate each other? This text discusses methods and theory in psychoanalytic literary criticism. Contributions from object relations theory, the significance of the researcher’s subjectivity, and issues of transference are emphasized. The difference between the literary and the clinical on the one hand and the challenge of reductionism on the other are imminent concerns, and as such are elaborated. Abundant access to theory and methods, awareness of the researcher’s subjective involvement in the research process, and a determination to ensure articulation of meaning as it springs from the texts are emphasized as ways to counteract reductionism. Examples from psychoanalytic literary criticism and insights of authors on the underpinnings of their creative writing illustrate how literature and psychoanalysis meet in interest for the unconscious as it is embedded in language; how language can capture us in an emotional presence, even when words seem lost or absent.

Transference-Focused Psychotherapy for Pathological Narcissism and Narcissistic Personality Disorder (TFP-N).

In this article, we provide an overview of transference-focused psychotherapy for patients with pathological narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder (TFP-N). In TFP-N we have modified and refined the tactics and techniques of TFP, an evidence-based treatment for borderline personality disorder, to meet the specific challenges of working with patients with narcissistic personality pathology whose retreat from reality into an illusory grandiosity makes them particularly difficult to engage in treatment. We first describe a model of narcissistic pathology based on considerations of psychological structure stemming from object relations theory. This model provides a unifying understanding of the core structure of narcissistic pathology, the pathological grandiose self, that underlies the impairments in self and interpersonal functioning of those with narcissistic pathology across the levels of personality organization (from high functioning to borderline to malignant). We then delineate the clinical process of working with patients with pathological narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder. Starting with the assessment process, using a detailed clinical example, we guide the reader through the progression of TFP-N as it helps the patient move from the distorted, unintegrated sense of self underlying the narcissistic presentation to the more integrated, realistic sense of self that characterizes healthier personality functioning. In TFP-N the focus on the disturbed interpersonal patterns of relating in the here and now of the therapeutic interaction is the vehicle to diminish grandiosity and improve relatedness, thereby effecting enduring changes in mental representation and real-world functioning.

Transference-Focused Psychotherapy for Adolescents With Personality Disorders.

This article presents a conceptualization of personality disorders in adolescence and the adaptation of transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP) for personality disordered adolescents (TFP-A). The model of assessment and treatment presented is based on contemporary psychoanalytic object relations theory developed by Otto F. Kernberg and supported by findings from current evidence-based outcome research. We present a method of assessing personality disorders in adolescents that addresses the variability of personality disorder symptoms and traits among adolescents and their instability over time. We then present the goal of TFP-A and its major phases of implementation. A major focus is therapist interventions.

Applied Transference-Focused Psychotherapy: An Overview and Update.

Transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP), developed and studied as an extended individual psychotherapy for patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD), rests on a rich theoretical foundation informed by psychoanalytic object relations theory. "Applied TFP" is a developing initiative using TFP principles in multiple clinical situations other than the standard extended individual psychotherapy, which has been empirically validated and is detailed in the TFP treatment manual. The growing application of TFP principles in innovative, overlapping ways has been focused primarily in three spheres: (1) the integration of TFP principles in pluralistic theoretical approaches to treatment of patients with personality disorder pathology; (2) the use of TFP elements in multiple teaching situations as part of curricula for trainees and practicing clinicians, and (3) the employment of TFP theory and interventions in settings across a continuum of patient acuity, tailored for patients with varying diagnoses. The use of TFP principles in the situations described directly addresses needs emerging in particular contexts that reflect specific requirements of clinician practice and training and of broader public health missions.

Obsessive position: the new psychoanalytic approach of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is considered one of the most difficult disorders to treat due to the diversity of its symptomatology, the difficulties of establishing and maintaining a relationship with patients and their rather rigid functioning. Freud made basic findings that described the nature of the disease, however in psychoanalysis there has been no truly novel theoretic approach to OCD ever since Freud’s seminal work. In this present theoretically study, I am examining OCD-symptoms primarily through object relations theory focusing on one group of certain key theoreticians and their followers. My summary of psychoanalytic literature on OCD is based on the works of Freud, Ferenczi and Klein. As a second step, from an object relational point of view, beside paranoid-schizoid and depressive, I am postulating a third position under the name obsessive position, what we can assume as a specific constellations of object relations with anxieties, defence mechanism and patterns of thinking. The specific characteristics of this position are discussed in the study. I am making a clear distinction between the obsessive ego-state and the realistic ego-state and discuss the differences between the two states. Through the introduction of the obsessive ego-state I am suggesting the definition of OCD as a disorder of personality organization and ego-organization. In the study, I therefore, argue for the application of a modified psychoanalytic methodology in the case of OCD-patients. I am offering a glimpse into this technique through a segment from a session of psychoanalytic therapy with an OCD-patient.

Psychoanalytic views of “writer’s block”: Artistic creation and its discontents

Psychoanalysis has, almost since its inception, regarded artistic creation as a privileged window to more universal psychological dynamics. If creative writing is interesting in itself, its failure can be fascinating. It is not unusual for some successful authors to find themselves unable to write. They suffer what is commonly known has “writer’s block,” a term coined by the psychoanalyst Edmund Bergler in his seminal study of blocked writers in the 1940s and 50s. This paper illustrates how the psychoanalytic study of “writer’s block” can go way beyond Bergler’s theorization. A writer who cannot write is also someone experiencing inner conflict, a self not living up to its expectations, a person that has lost the ability to play. Freudian, ego psychology, and object relations theory are some of the theoretical lenses used to look at “writer’s block,” and to show how this circumscribed phenomenon can shed light on more common struggles and muddles. A brief narration of the author’s experience of writer’s block is presented as an illustration of the parallels between psychoanalysis and writing, especially regarding the importance and use of reverie.