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Generosity: a psychological and interpersonal motivational factor of therapeutic relevance
Author(s) -
Kradin Richard
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of analytical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.285
H-Index - 23
eISSN - 1468-5922
pISSN - 0021-8774
DOI - 10.1111/1465-5922.00085
Subject(s) - generosity , idealization , psychology , interpersonal communication , social psychology , relevance (law) , developmental psychology , psychoanalysis , philosophy , theology , physics , quantum mechanics , political science , law
This paper examines the role of generosity in analysis. Generosity represents a complex constellation of cognitions and affects that is antithetical to those states of super‐ego harshness that characterize many forms of human psychopathology. In development, generosity is evoked by idealization, and a dynamic axis of idealization‐generosity promotes relational proximity between the child and its caretakers, and eventually fosters separation and individuation. Generosity is highly sensitive to adverse conditions, and requires environmental conditions that are conducive to psychosomatic well‐being. The imaginal basis of generosity is rooted in the myth of the ‘hero and the return’, which is the mythic foundation of the analyst's role as psychopomp. It is argued that the generosity of the analyst is a cardinal therapeutic factor in treatment.