Surviving in Absence—On the Preservative and Death Drives and Their Clinical Utility

Abstract

This paper offers a new theoretical and clinical look at the death drive in connection with the preservative drive. The author elaborates the flaws she sees in Freud's Beyond the Pleasure Principle (1920) and reformulates the transition between Freud's first drive theory and his second one within an implicit object relations theory. Simultaneously with this revised version of drive theory, a structural theory for the realm of healthy self- and object preservation and for pathological or deadened self and object parts is developed, including the devastating effects of trauma. Clinical material from an extended psychoanalysis shows how these concepts can help us understand these patients' absence and "deadness" and rethink the technical challenges they provide.

Abrupt Terminations In The Treatment of Suicidal and Self‐Harming Young People: The Negativel in the Therapeutic Relationship

“…In addition, some writers have suggested that allowing the NTR to develop is crucial for some patients, to repeat past experiences so as to develop a sense of mastery (Asch, 1976;Olinick, 1964Olinick, , 1970. More recently, Schmidt-Hellerau (2006) has suggested that a more positive force driving NTR is related to preservative aspects essential for survival.…”

Serviceable and consistent: The goal of metapsychology

“… As I have shown elsewhere Freud's “self‐preservative” drive would be better termed “preservative drive,” thus recognizing its self ‐ as well as its object‐preservative functions (Schmidt‐Hellerau, , , ). …”

“…Freud's effort was to conceptualize how the mindas already existingworks. It was Bion, who went one step further in trying to describewith the shift from beta to alpha-elementshow mental processes occur in the first place.4 As I have shown elsewhere Freud's "self-preservative" drive would be better termed "preservative drive," thus recognizing its self-as well as its object-preservative functions(Schmidt-Hellerau, 2001, 2005, 2006.…”

“…Moreover I do think he captured an important dimension of psychic life hitherto not fathomed. What he did not accomplish was a detailed explanation of how to transition and integrate his first drive theory into his second – an open question that intrigued and preoccupied me for many years until I found a solution for it (Schmidt‐Hellerau, ).…”