Posted by OzLand on August 5, 2007, at 15:35:42
In reply to Re: I feel dumb, what's the difference? » OzLand, posted by LlurpsieNoodle on August 5, 2007, at 13:15:49
Yes; for the most part when speaking of objects, one is speaking about persons. Also is the case with "part objects" and "splitting." Persons may only see part of who someone is or only part of who s/he is, and "react" to that as if it is the whole person. Splitting is different, but I won't get into that. We "see" ourselves through our own lenses, and the same is true for how we see other. So, yes, it is true that how we view our selves and others is related to past experiences during the formative years.
Insight is understanding and making changes in how one views the self and other and how one puts these views into practice. When one sees the connections, distortions, etc, then it is typically difficult to maintain the same type of interactions. For example, the whole issue of abanonment and feeling the therapist is abandoning when s/he goes on vacation. The head says of course this is not true, but I FEEL like it is true. Once one knows from the heart as well as the head that this is not abandonment, it is not an issue anymore. The heart is saying, this has been my experience.
When persons are in crisis, yes even a psychoanalytically informed therapist is going to be more active, more directive, etc.
With my therapist now, he is more active in a different way. He is not directive and does not give advice or suggestions. He is not waiting for me to make the links with the past. Part of this in my opinion is because of my resistance and ambivalence re getting into csa. Part of it is too that he knows I don't want to be in therapy or analysis for the next 8 years. And, I think part of it is that psychoanalytically informed psychotherapy has evolved in this direction for some therapists. We talked about this when I was at Menninger's doing my postdoc. Some of the old time analysts bemoaned that insurance was only paying for short term treatment and therapy. Others like one of my favorite professors there said that he did not think it destroyed to process to be more active and facilitate making the lings for patients. This is what my therapist does now. As I show my self to be in crisis, he is more directive like saying, if xxxx, then I want you to call me immediately. And he will tell me to do A, B, and C after I leave. There have been only a couple of times he has viewed me as going off the side of the cliff. He sees me in acute distress but believes I have the ego strenghts at this point to figure out what I need to do. He's right. Sometimes he trusts me to figure out what to do more so than I trust myself. In crisis I might be more prone to want to do A vs. B, and he will speak his opinion and tell me not to do A just yet. Wait and see. That's the whole issue of not seeing the forest for the trees in the moment, and it is something I struggle with at this time.
Oz
poster:OzLand
thread:772985
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20070726/msgs/774143.html