Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 24, 2026

Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses
Published on: September 28, 2018
The clash of Gods: changes in a patient's use of God representations
1Associate Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling, Saint Meinrad School of Theology, St. Meinrad, IN 47577, USA. RLamothe@saintmeinrad.edu
Abstract:
In this article, I argue that manifest and latent intrapsychic and interpersonal clashes of god representations, which are inextricably yoked to transference and countertransference communications, signify the patient's and therapist's personal realities and histories. More specifically, the therapist's conscious (relatively speaking) commitment to a god representation will not only shape his/her analytic attitude-as well as interpretations and noninterpretive interventions-it may also be implicated in a patient altering his/her use of god representations. I suggest further that one way to understand the process of psychoanalytic therapy is how both analyst and analysand tacitly face and answer the following questions: What God(s) orients my life and relationships? What God(s) represents subjugation, fear, and the loss of freedom? What God(s) have I repressed? What God(s) represents the possibility and experience of being alive and real with others? In the end, what God(s) will I choose to serve, to surrender to?
Related Concept Videos
Cognitive Dissonance
Kubler Ross's Stages of Dying
In denial, individuals reject the reality of their condition, often thinking, "This isn't true; I feel fine," as a way to protect themselves from emotional distress. Anger...
Schemas
Personal Choice and Fate Attributions
Self-Discrepancy Theory
Classification of Illness
An illness is a response to a disease in which the person's level of functioning is changed compared with a previous level. The general classification of illness includes acute and chronic.
Acute illness is severe and...

