Abstract:

The purpose of this dissertation is to develop a theoretical point of view that describes the manner in which certain psychotherapeutic interventions may affect the reorganization of the self.

This point of view is established largely by explicating the dynamics of the phenomenon of projective identification and then suggesting how these dynamics are instrumental in both the disorganization and reorganization of the self.

The dynamics of projective identification can only be understood as they are seen in relationship to the psychological phenomenon that precedes them: splitting. Splitting is an important process leading to the fracturing of the self structure which in turn is a principal source of psychotherapy.

In the psychotherapeutic setting, psychopathology is responded to with psychotherapeutic interventions. However, sometimes the intervention itself may unwittingly make disturbances in the self structure more difficult to treat.

It is suggested that Vipassana meditation, Reichian and neo-Reichian body work, and cognitive restructuring are three therapeutic interventions that mismanage the process of projective identification and consequently make self structure repair more difficult.