Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych) / This dissertation reviews the construct of projective identification and the
ways in which it is used as a powerful form of communication by the
patient within the therapeutic relationship. The particular model of
projective identification explored in this dissertation is that of Bion (1962)_
who, through his model of containment, brought the subtle interactive
processes between the mother and infant into the foreground. This has
been used as a metaphor for the therapeutic relationship. Some of the
theoretical constructs central to an understanding of projective
identification are introduced and discussed. Clinical case material from
psychodynamic child psychotherapy is used in an attempt to illustrate the
patient's use of and therapist's experience of projective identification. The
method used is the single case study and material is drawn from 14
sessions. Through an analysis of the therapist's experiences in the
countertransference, with the help of ongoing supervision and personal
psychotherapy, it is shown that patient's induce feelings and experiences
in the therapist in an attempt to communicate aspects of their internal
worlds. Self reflection and retrospective analysis has been highlighted
with the hope that this may be useful to future neophyte psychotherapists
working psychodynamically.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uwc/oai:etd.uwc.ac.za:11394/7087 |
| Date | January 1996 |
| Creators | Crawford, Michelle |
| Contributors | Perkel, Adrian |
| Publisher | University of the Western Cape |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | University of the Western Cape |
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