Imagery as an aid in working through unconscious conflicts: A preliminary report.

Of the many concepts that Freud bequeathed us, few have proved as elusive as narcissism. In his first systematic exposition of this concept, Freud (1914) stated, that the term narcissism was coined to refer to a paraphilia in which one takes one's own body, rather than another person, as a sexual object. He proceeded, however, to redefine narcissism not as a disorder of sexual object choice but as a normal process, "the libidinal complement to the egoism of the instinct of self-preservation, a measure of which may justifiably be attributed to every living creature" (pp. 73-74). This formulation usually has been rendered as the libidinal cathexis of the ego or, as modified by Hartmann (1950), the libidinal cathexis of the self. Narcissism, according to this essentially economic definition, means self-love and self-esteem. In this framework, narcissism is depleted by libidinal investment in another and is reacquired when one receives love from another or approval from one's ego ideal, itself in turn rooted in narcissism (Freud, 1914).

Section: The Psychotherapy Of Narcissismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Narcissism: Reflections on others' images of an elusive concept.

Auerbach¹

1990

“…At the highest level of directiveness are structured imagery exercises th at are intended to therapeutically correct, rather than simply uncover, intrapsychic dynamics (Ahsen, 1968;Desoille, 1965;Leuner, 1969Leuner, , 1977Shorr, 1972Shorr, , 1974Singer, 1971aSinger, , 1971bSinger, , 1974. Most recently, from a decisively psychoanalytic perspective, Silverman (1987) proposed imagery as an aid in working through unconscious conflicts. Utilizing the principles of implosive therapy (Stampfl & Levis, 1967), Silverman suggested that patients, with the assistance of the analyst, can create and rehearse an emotionally arousing imagery scene that pertains to a critical psychodynamic issue uncovered in the course of the treatment (e.g., primitive wishes related to oral incorporation, incest, or patricide).…”

Section: Level Of Directivenessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This raises an important question: Would the direct access and discharge of affect by such techniques by a reversion to Freud’s abreactive method, which he eventually dismissed as unsuccessful? In defense of his use of implosive imagery in psychoanalytic treatment, Silverman (1987) stated that Freud’s early work with the abreactive method assumed the pathogenic importance of warded-off traumatic events, but had not yet fully recognized the role of unconscious wishes in psychopathology. Though Silverman’s technique may be used to implode childhood trauma, its primary goal is uncovering the warded-off affects associated with unconscious wishes and fears.…”

Section: Imagery Techniques: Theoretical and Practical Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These intrapsychic fields or barriers function internally as they once functioned externally, to exclude painful or conflicted ideation from consciousness. Also, analyzing defenses and resistance after, rather than before, the discovery of warded-off affect may be more effective because the patient will be less likely to experience the interpretation as a criticism or narcissistic blow (Silverman, 1987).…”

Section: Imagery Techniques: Theoretical and Practical Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Mental imagery in psychoanalytic treatment.

Suler¹

1989

Mental imagery techniques may facilitate the therapeutic process by stimulating patients' insight into unconscious dynamics., by helping them uncover and master warded-off affect, and by enhancing the clinician's empathic contact and access to countertransference. The history of imagery techniques in the psychoanalytic movement and the effect of these techniques on the traditional psychoanalytic method are reviewed. A conceptual framework based on the theory of primary and secondary process suggests spontaneity, experiential scope, associative elaboration, and object impact as four dimensions for the clinical evaluation of imagery experience.Mental images are sensory-perceptual experiences in the absence of environmental stimulation. Typically they refer to visualizations, the so-called "pictures in the mind's eye," although, technically, imagery also includes experiences in other sensory modalities, including auditory, tactile, kinesthetic, and olfactory sensations. Psychological research on imagery currently is flourishing, and over the past 20 years, imagery techniques have been developed in various forms of psychotherapy.This article explores psychoanalytic concepts about imagery and the use of imagery techniques in psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Although dreams also are imagistic phenomena, they are not the focus of this article. The primary objective is to evaluate the contribution to the therapeutic process of techniques that work with images experienced during the therapy hour. In the first section of this article, I examine the historical background of imagery techniques. In the second section, I focus on the various theoretical and technical issues that have emerged in the literatureparticularly those issues concerning how imagery methods affect the traditional psychoanalytic process. Finally, I propose a conceptual model for Requests for reprints should be sent to

“…Of particular interest is Berger's concept of the empathic therapist as the “reader of the patient's novel” who oscillates between the roles of “observer on the scene” and “external observer.” He suggests that we listen to patients describe their lives as if each life were a novel unfolding, always looking for windows to enter their subjective worlds as observers on the scene who empathically share and resonate with their descriptions of their experiences. Though they may resist, we encourage them to tell their stories in terms of vividly described, dramatic action sequences that allow us to join them in that experience—a technique, also described by Silverman (1987), that revives emotional states via visual, auditory, and tactile images. In the role of external observer, we examine the flow of the narrative as a whole, looking for patterns, omissions, errors, and contradictions that reveal deeper unconscious realms of experience, which must be interpreted as hidden elements of the patient's story.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of Clinical empathy.

Suler¹

1991

Few people would deny that empathy always has been an important aspect of psychoanalytic treatment. However, as Berger points out in Clinical Empathy, discussions in the literature about this topic have increased dramatically over the past 10 years. To a large extent, this rising interest is the result of Kohut's emphasis on empathy as both the essential healing factor and cornerstone of data collection in psychoanalysis.In the first section of his book, in which he reviews concepts of empathy, Berger agrees that empathy facilitates the healing process and data collection, but he does not emphasize these ideas as strongly as the self psychologists; nor does he endorse other self psychological views about empathy. He only briefly discusses the role of empathy in the strengthening of self-structure through the analysis of selfobject transferences and transmuting internalizations. He does not agree that empathy occurs when the patient "feels understood" or that pathology necessarily stems from a lack of parental empathy in childhood. He does not believe that empathy is "warmth" and "acceptance," a view often attributed to self psychology. Instead, he assumes a broader, more traditional perspective, maintaining that "the term empathy should be used only to denote experi.entially knowing another person's inner state" (p. 228). It consists of an emotional component, which is the clinician's personal and theoryless reactions to the patient (similar to the self psychological concept of empathy as "experience near"), and an intellectual component, which is derived from the theories that guide and give meaning to the clinician's emotional experience (this component seems to violate Berger's definition of empathy as "experientially knowing"). In the psychoanalytic context, empathy is used to promote growth; but in other situations, according to Berger, it could be used to manipulate and hurt people.Berger's definition of empathy broadens to the more generic idea of being Requests for reprints should be sent to