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Action as ejection.

Daisy Franco1

  • 1Institute for Psychoanalytic Training and Research (IPTAR), New York, USA.

Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association
|April 11, 2006
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Analyzing acting-out episodes helps assess analytic progress. Key variables include wishes, defenses, and mental process concreteness, aiding in understanding patient development over time.

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Psychoanalysis
  • Psychotherapy

Background:

  • Acting-out episodes are common in psychoanalytic therapy.
  • Understanding these episodes is crucial for assessing therapeutic progress.
  • Borderline personality traits can manifest as character-based acting out.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the utility of systematically analyzing acting-out episodes for assessing analytic progress.
  • To identify key variables within acting-out episodes that indicate therapeutic development.
  • To illustrate the analysis of acting-out with case examples.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic analysis of two distinct acting-out episodes from a borderline patient.
  • Examination of variables: nature of the wish, defense mechanisms, and degree of mental process concreteness.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Case study approach detailing the patient's intrapsychic processes and defenses.

    • Main Results:

    • The first episode, early in analysis, involved ejection of negative self-image via symbolic equation and displacement, reflecting rigid splitting.
    • The second episode, later in analysis, revealed an unconscious wish for oedipal victory through identification and competition, with increased symbolization.
    • Differences in defense mechanisms (splitting, denial vs. symbolization) and wish actualization were observed between episodes.

    Conclusions:

    • Systematic analysis of acting-out episodes provides valuable insights into patient progress during psychoanalysis.
    • The nature of wishes, defenses, and mental processes in acting-out episodes evolves with therapeutic advancement.
    • Acting-out can serve as a marker for different stages of analytic treatment and personality integration.