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NON‐BORDERLINE PATIENTS WITH MOTHERS WHO MANIFEST BORDERLINE PATHOLOGY
Author(s) -
GlickaufHughes Cheryl,
Mehlman Elizabeth
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
british journal of psychotherapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.442
H-Index - 17
eISSN - 1752-0118
pISSN - 0265-9883
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-0118.1998.tb00383.x
Subject(s) - psychology , pathological , developmental psychology , sublimation (psychology) , constructive , fantasy , clinical psychology , psychotherapist , medicine , pathology , art , literature , process (computing) , computer science , operating system
The psychological development of non‐borderline adult patients raised presumably by mothers with borderline characteristics is examined. Despite childhoods that were subjected to a preponderance of pathological interactions with a primary caretaker, the adults described exhibit common patterns of adaptation that have enabled them to achieve higher levels of integration and differentiation than their mothers. Characteristics of adaptation include self‐understanding, sublimation, the ability to form positive relationships with other caretakers, and the constructive use of fantasy. In treatment, these patients present a number of issues such as fluctuating self‐esteem, anxious attachment, a ‘borderline transference’, and a conflicted identification with the mother.