Internal Conflict

Abstract

. … the extraordinary propensity of the human being to join hands with external forces in an attack upon his own existence is one of the most remarkable of biological phenomena (Menninger 1938) The term 'superego’(which should perhaps be replaced by‘anti‐ego’) is used to denote a set of habitual response tendencies that are antagonistic to the self, and cause the subject to behave as if he were two separate persons at war with each other. The superego develops in early life and may be ‘punitive’or‘humiliating’or both. The former kind arises through learning to restrain the self from dangerously rebelling against overwhelming coercion, and the latter through intense striving to avoid parental scorn. The resultant‘internal’conflict resembles the external one between an actual child and a demanding parent; and the relative fortunes of the two antagonists provide a model for understanding the characteristics of many kinds of emotional and psychosomatic disorder. Superego behaviour is propagated from generation to generation; and perpetuates itself in the individual by preventing the responses that, by proving it unnecessary, would lead to its extinction. Self‐punitive conditions are therefore highly resistant to treatment, which must be specially directed to the particular needs of each of the patient's two conflicting parts in turn. To be able to do this, psychotherapists themselves need to be freed from their own internal conflicts during training and later.

A method of rating assimilation in psychotherapy based on markers of change.

“…Viewing inner conflict as indicative of change is consistent with existential approaches (May, 1996) that view inner contradiction as a rich complexity reflecting the paradoxical nature of existence. This contrasts with psychodynamic characterizations of inner conflict as indicators of psychopathology (Woodmansey, 1989). It may be that inner conflict leads to positive change only in the context of a voice emerging into awareness incrementally as delineated in the assimilation of voices model.…”

Key features of therapeutic social work: The use of relationship

“…The description of this model as 'psychosocial' (Woods & Hollis, 1964/1991) is entirely appropriate, but it should be noted that this is a different use of the adjective from its later more generic use by psychologists, psychiatrists and in medical discourse. The latter refers to any therapy which is provided by human influence rather than drugs or technology.…”

“…Anti-oppressive theory may prioritise the effects of power differentials (and structural powerlessness) in society; person-centred thinking has emphasised the negative self-concept and incongruence (Rogers, 1961);Winnicottt (1965, p. 142) referred to the development of the 'false self ' and Fairbairn (1963) to the 'anti-libidinal ego'. The present discussion will focus on a particular (and conceptually straightforward) psychodynamic formulation of the punitive superego as put forward by Woodmansey (1966Woodmansey ( , 1972Woodmansey ( , 1989.…”

“…But whatever other dimensions they may have, problems of child abuse, problems of mental health, of violence in intimate relationships, of bereavement in later life, all involve perturbations in emotions and relationships. The present article is an introduction to core elements of the psychodynamic social work tradition which over decades has analysed the elements involved in an effective response, both in overview (for example: Beistek, 1961;Ferrard & Hunneybun, 1962;Woods & Hollis, 1964/1991Salzberger-Wittenberg, 1970;Woodmansey, 1972;Waddell, 1989;Preston-Shoot & Agass, 1990;Howe & Hinings, 1995) and in meticulous detail (for example: Mattinson & Sinclair, 1979;Biggs & Woolfe, 1998;Cooper & Webb, 1999;Couper, 2000;Treacher & Katz, 2000;McCluskey & Cooper, 2000;Hollway, 2001). …”