Patients’ use of dogs as objects of identification, projection, and displacement.

Abstract

This article illustrates how a patient's discussion of a dog can provide a rich entrée into that patient's psyche and inner object world. The author will review the psychoanalytic literature on the topic, present case material from 2 clients who displaced their issues onto dogs, and consider clinical techniques for addressing this. Given that human identifications with dogs occur in daily life, it is hardly surprising that dogs may serve as objects of identification, projection, and displacement in a client's psychoanalytic treatment. The most frequent means by which this occurs is through metaphor, as shown in a psychotherapy vignette from an adult male. His identification with a wounded dog led to revelations about his object relations, was enacted in his relationships and transference, and became an organizing metaphor in the treatment. In an analytic case, an adult anorexic woman's dog imagery evolved as she psychologically separated from her mother, "launched" her children, and claimed her own life and agency. She initially presented blurred boundaries and overidentification with her dog. The patient recognized her second dog as a separate object, but projected malevolent human intent onto it. Finally, she recognized that it was just acting like a dog, and she went on to develop expertise in training dogs. The author will explore both of the patients' defenses, displacements, transferences, and the interventions which helped in working through their issues.

Meanings Attached to Companion Animals by Russian-Speaking Young Women with Anorexia

“…Although animal-assisted therapy has been applied to adolescents and young adults with social functioning difficulties, its prospects for individuals with EDs have not yet been discussed. In addition, descriptions of pet ownership among women with anorexia are scarce (Ponder, 2017;Rie et al, 2007), and pets' place in the lives of young women with anorexia, and in particular in their personal networks, is still unknown. Considering the potential mixed impact of having a pet on the lives of young people and the positive influence of animal-assisted therapy on people with various social-functioning-related mental health problems, pet ownership could be related to both positive and negative influences on the mental health of women with anorexia.…”

“…The role of animals in the lives of people with eating disorders (EDs) has received scant attention in the social science literature. Moreover, the papers that consider the meaning of pets in the lives of people with EDs (Ponder, 2017;Rie et al, 2007) do not describe in detail the way attachment to pets could be related to the onset and course of EDs. It is known that pet ownership can significantly improve the psychological well-being of people of different ages both with and without mental health problems (Bolstad et al, 2021;Crossman et al, 2015;Lem et al, 2016;Love, 2021;Tower & Nokota, 2006;Young et al, 2020).…”