Posted by Medusa on January 28, 2004, at 4:44:50
In reply to Mulling over a contradiction, posted by tabitha on January 28, 2004, at 0:09:56
> I'm now confused about how both interpretations can be true. <snip> How can both of these things be true at the same time? Can anyone grasp this?
>Hi Tabitha,
Both interpretations could be valid as part of the whole picture. My take is that almost everyone has at least some capacity for caring for others. At the same time, each person has differing levels of drive to preserve one's own comfort. So, to get as close as possible to "truth", a real picture, both elements have to be included.
(My gut reaction is that in this case, V's discomfort with sad feelings was the dominant motivation and that the therapist was sugar-coating that, acknowledging his 'caring' side in order to facilitate the delivery of what everyone else wanted to drive into his head with a sledge hammer.)
poster:Medusa
thread:306288
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20040123/msgs/306314.html