Ego boundary as process: a systemic-contextual approach

This paper examines the ego boundary construct, outlining its origin and development within psychoanalytic theory and demonstrating the ways in which its interpretation and use have been affected and circumscribed by the structural model upon which psychoanalytic theory is based. In particular, I will discuss the sequence of reasoning by which the construct boundary became synonymous with barrier at the expense of consideration of its role in maintaining contact and exchange with the world. The contributions and limitations of the mathematical model of Kurt Lewin are also discussed. An alternative systemic-contextual model is proposed, a model which describes boundary not as barrier but as dialectical processes of separation and inclusion which mediate a person's complex relationship with the world.