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An infant's experience as a selfobject.

R R Lee1

  • 1Institute of Contemporary Psychotherapy, Sydney, Australia.

American Journal of Psychotherapy
|July 23, 1999
PubMed
Summary
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Infants can experience trauma when acting as a selfobject for parents, but mutuality may prevent this. Psychotherapy helps resolve lasting trauma by addressing archaic twinship needs stemming from early parent-infant relationships.

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Psychoanalysis
  • Developmental Psychology

Background:

  • Infant-parent relationships are crucial for development.
  • Early experiences shape selfobject dynamics and emotional regulation.
  • Trauma can arise from a lack of mutuality in selfobject experiences.

Observation:

  • Infants may experience trauma when functioning as a selfobject for a parent.
  • Lack of mutuality can lead to infant exhaustion or traumatization.
  • Parental depression or imposed identity contributes to infant distress.

Findings:

  • Kohut's case of Mr. Z illustrates the distress of being a selfobject.
  • Infant selfobject trauma can manifest as seeking archaic twinship in therapy.
  • Patients may recreate traumatizing infant-parent dynamics with therapists.

Related Experiment Videos

Implications:

  • Empathic understanding of archaic twinship is vital in psychotherapy.
  • Resolving early selfobject trauma requires exploring recreated relational patterns.
  • Effective treatment addresses the lasting effects of infant traumatization.