Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Search research articles

Related Experiment Videos

Identification in the neuroses.

S M Abend, M S Porder

The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis

|January 1, 1986

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Psychoanalytic study reveals that patient identifications in therapy stem from unconscious fantasies of becoming like another person. Understanding these motives is key to analyzing neurotic symptom formation and psychic structure development.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Expanding psychological possibilities.

The Psychoanalytic quarterly·2001

Same author

Analytic technique today.

Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association·2000

Same author

An inquiry into the fate of the transference in psychoanalysis.

Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association·1993

Same author

The psychoanalytic process: motives and obstacles in the search for clarification.

The Psychoanalytic quarterly·1990

Same author

Unconscious fantasies, structural theory, and compromise formation.

Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association·1990

Same author

Countertransference and psychoanalytic technique.

The Psychoanalytic quarterly·1989

Same journal

Letter from Oslo.

The International journal of psycho-analysis·2026

Same journal

Marion Milner's foundational influence on Bion's conception of reverie and Winnicott's conception of play.

The International journal of psycho-analysis·2026

Same journal

How to train psychoanalysts in our time? Exploring controversies around teleanalysis.

The International journal of psycho-analysis·2026

Same journal

Gaza: another psychoanalytic perspective. Reflection on the work of Shmuel Erlich.

The International journal of psycho-analysis·2026

Same journal

Introduction: Questions about internal, external and shared frames, types of loss, methods for scientific dialogue, and the sources of power and authority.

The International journal of psycho-analysis·2026

Same journal

Freud, Sebald and the head of Medusa: The unconscious sense of guilt.

The International journal of psycho-analysis·2026

See all related articles

Area of Science:

Psychoanalytic theory
Psychodynamic psychology
Clinical psychology

Background:

Identification is a complex concept in psychoanalytic thought, crucial for understanding symptom formation and psychic structure.
Previous theories offer various distinctions between different types of identification.

Observation:

This study examines identifications within the clinical material from analyses of neurotic patients.
Identifications emerging during analysis represent underlying fantasies of becoming or resembling another individual.

Findings:

The primary goal is to determine the unconscious motives behind these identificatory fantasies.
These fantasies are compromise formations, revealing instinctual gratifications, defenses against anxiety, depressive affect, and superego contributions (punishment, expiation, undoing).

Related Experiment Videos

The study questions traditional typologies of identification, emphasizing a common underlying structure.

Implications:

The findings offer a unified perspective on identification within psychoanalysis.
Understanding the unconscious motives of identification aids in the therapeutic process for neurotic patients.
This research contributes to the deeper comprehension of psychic structure and symptom formation through the lens of identification.