On the pathology of the separation-individuation process as manifested in later clinical work: an attempt at...

In this paper, through clinical example, I have attempted to illustrate and to delineate aspects of the pathology of the separation-individuation process as they are manifested in later clinical work. I have distinguished between pathology of the relation to the differentiated other and the undifferentiated other, the latter being the primary phenomena with roots in the separation-individuation process; and I have attempted to show that the confusion between these two rests on a focus on surface presentations rather than in-depth understanding. A further distinction was drawn within the pathology of the relation to the differentiated other; some clinical phenomena there can be seen as tied to the differentiation process itself, and are thus also linked to separation-individuation. Finally, the relevance of the concepts of separation-individuation to depersonalization/derealization, to 'as if' character, and to folie à deux was discussed.