Transgenerational - Psychodynamic / Object Relations Flashcards
What is Projective Identification, in Object Relations Therapy?
In projective identification, a person splits off an unacceptable part of the self, which is then sent (psychically) into the object. They them make an attempt at control through re-internalizing and maintaining a connection to that object.
Projective identification happens with 2 people who are close. The person doing the projection isn’t aware of their deficiency or is suppressing it.
The “objectifying” person may have a physical or emotional reaction to a person or situation they have repressed feelings about (or feel ambivalence or in a bind about), or when they are reminded of that person or situation.
The “objectified” person may feel a reaction to the first person’s unawareness/suppression. As therapists, when we detect these reactions in ourselves, we can look to see if the client might be repressing some feelings.
How does projective identification happen?
- Making someone identify this way
- Choosing people who have this quality
- Choosing someone susceptible to the identification
What is object relations theory?
Object relations theory is a way of understanding how we become who we are, with an emphasis on our earliest years of life. It focuses on helping people identify and address deficits in their interpersonal functioning by recovering the internal parts of the self they have lost through suppression/projection, and exploring ways their relationships can be improved.
Object Relations Theory flourished in the 40’a and 50’s. It is rooted in Freud’s theories and still very intertwined with the psychoanalytic approach.
Who originated Psychodynamic Theory?
- Sigmund Freud
- Erik Erikson (hypnotherapy)
- Nathan Ackerman
- Bowlby (Attachment Theory)
Who originated Object Relations Theory?
- Melanie Klein - motive is connection; positions not stages; splitting
- Donald Winnicott
- Margaret Mahler
- Scharff & Scharff
- W.D. Fairbairn
What did Melanie Klein theorize?
Melanie Klein (1882-1960), from Austria, theorized about how children develop psychologically. She thought humans’ drives were relationally focused, not about sexual or aggressive desires.
- Children split their mothers into the concepts of Good Breast and Bad Breast…eventually these merge into ambivalence, which is a sign of psychological maturity.
- Viewed human development in terms of positions, not stages:
– The depressive position happens when a child starts realizing life is a nuanced mix of good and bad. This is also a sign of psychological maturity.
– In the paranoid-schizoid position, a person cannot achieve that nuance or tolerate ambivalence, and either idealizes or scapegoats others in order to preserve their innocence. - The important element is: we have a tendency to reduce ppl to what they offer us, until we mature.
What are some assumptions of Psychodynamic Theory (psychoanalysis) ?
- Sexual and aggressive drives are at the heart of human nature
- Symptoms are attempts to deal with unconscious conflicts over sex and aggression
- Every person wants to be appreciated
- Early experiences affect later relationships
- Innate biological factors shape the personality
- Seeking a maternal object is the motivation for the psychic system
- The therapeutic “holding environment” is crucial to help the client facilitate development of their true self.
What are the assumptions of Object Relations Theory?
- Humans are primarily motivated by the need to connect with others and form relationships
- Early (pre-Oedipal) family interactions, especially mother-infant, affect personality development
- Infants form mental representations of themselves in relation to others, and these internal images or “objects” significantly influence both inner experiences and interpersonal relationships later in life
- Internalized objects become projected onto important others; we then evoke responses from them that fit that object, they comply, and we react to the projection rather than the real person
- Pathology results from early deficits
What does “object relations” mean?
This refers to the dynamic internalized relationships between self and significant others (objects). An object relation involves mental representations of:
- The object as perceived by the self
- The self in relation to the object
- The relationship between self and object
Internal objects mental representations of past relationships, formed during infancy through repeated experiences with one’s caregiver. They don’t necessarily reflect reality, but are subjectively construed by the infant’s limited cognitive abilities. In healthy development, these representations evolve over time; in unhealthy development, they are frozen in time & immature. The internal images have enduring qualities and serve as templates for future relationships.
Object-relations therapists emphasize the basic human need for ____________
Relationship and attachment to others
What is “splitting” in Object Relations Theory?
Splitting is a process used for protection and keeping the infant feeling safe by separating aspects of self into good and bad. It involves the mental separation of objects into good and bad parts, and the subsequent repression of the bad, or anxiety-provoking, aspects.
Originally, splitting happens in response to whether a caregiver satisfies an infant’s needs. Later splitting happens in response to perception of good and bad parts of the self. Repression of bad aspects of a caregiver or the self happens if that person is not “good enough” in terms of meeting needs.
Who was Melanie Klein?
An originator of Object Relations Theory. Klein concluded that infants focused on developing relationships, especially with caregivers – not controlling sexual urges, as Freud proposed. Focused on first few months of life as pivotal to development.
Who was Ronald Fairbairn?
An originator of Object Relations Theory.
Ronald Fairbairn…
- Posited that humans are object-seeking, not pleasure-seeking.
- Viewed development as a gradual process, as humans grow from dependence to interdependence.
Who was Donald Winnicott?
An originator of Object Relations Theory.
Donald Winnicott…
- Known for stressing the importance of the first months of life
- Emphasized the parental environment in the formation of the self
- Suggested if caregivers don’t attend to a child’s needs and potential, the child may develop a false self.
- The true self emerges when all aspects of a child are acknowledged and accepted.
- Stressed the importance of raising children to develop independence, but know their caregiver will protect them. (A precursor to balance in differentiation.)
What is the goal of Object Relations Therapy, and the mechanisms of change?
The target outcome is to free family members of unconscious constraints so they can interact as healthy individuals, with an enhanced genuine self. This leads to reduced internal conflict and enhanced relationships.
Mechanisms of change:
- Creating a therapeutic environment that facilitates maturational processes that were incomplete
- Helping people understand how childhood object relations impact current emotions, motivations, and relationships, and how they contribute to any problems being faced.
- Helping clients surface aspects of the self that were split and repressed, so that they can address these aspects of self to experience a more authentic existence.
- Helping clients integrate good and bad aspects of internal objects, so they can see others more realistically
- Separation-individuation and differentiation
What are the phases of Object Relations Therapy?
- Phase 1 - Empathic listening and acceptance as client describes their inner world, family background, and needs.
- Phase 2 - Assess attachment bonds, projections, splits/repressoin, etc.
- Phase 3 - Observe behaviors of client to better grasp how they are understood/experienced by others
- Phase 4 - Help client develop more insight and awareness of their object relations through the therapeutic process
What is the role of the therapist in Object Relations Therapy?
- Creating a secure, trusting relationship where client feels understood. This allows client to develop healthy object relations, leading to extension of general relational maturity and elimination of splitting
- Listening
- Expert position
- Interpreting object relations dynamics for the client
- Therapist must attune and adapt to the client’s needs
- Facilitating replaying of pathological object relations scenarios, in order to achieve a healthier outcome
What are limitations and critiques of Object Relations Therapy and psychoanalysis?
- It underestimates the biological basis of many mental health issues
- It takes a long time commitment, more than other forms of therapy – lasting years, not months
- Therefore, it is costly
- It is too non-directive and slow for clients seeking faster or more solution-focused approach
- Too slow to be useful to clients with addictions, self-harm, or SI
What are interventions in Object Relations Therapy?
- Listening
- Showing empathy
- Offering interpretations, especially of projections
- Promoting insight
- Family of origin sessions
- Creating a safe & trustworthy environment
- “Working through” (translating insight into new action)
How does change occur in Object Relations Therapy and Psychoanalysis?
Change occurs when clients…
- Expand their insight to realize that their psychological lives are larger than their conscious experience
- Accept repressed needs or parts of their personalities
- Understand more full, real aspects of others, rather than their current projections
What are internal objects in Object Relations Theory?
Mental images or concepts of self and others, built from experience and expectation
What is Attachment, in Object Relations Theory?
Attachment is connection with important others.
What is Mirroring, in Object Relations Theory?
When parents show understanding and acceptance.
Example: when a mother looks at her baby, the baby sees himself because the mother’s appearance reflects what she sees in the baby—joy, sadness, etc.
