[Containing, right hemisphere: projective identification as an interpersonal mechanism, the ability for affect...

The capacity of affect regulation develops with priority in reciprocal, non-verbal communication processes between the early caregiver and the baby. In this process, the projective identification plays the role of crucial means of communication. Processes of projective identification which emerge in therapeutic and educational interactions can be understood as such an early form of communication which contributes to the afterward-ripening of the capacity of affect regulation. Before the background of recent neuro-psychological findings it becomes clear, why the reciprocal and non-verbal communication between the early caregiver and infant as well as between the therapist and the patient is of such fundamental importance for the structural (re-) maturation of the right cerebral hemisphere, as well as for the connections between the left and right hemisphere. In case the projective identification persists as a defensive strategy in dealing with other people, pathological interaction circles can develop which can be overcome only when, for example, the other person assumes the role of the "regulating other".