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OBJECT RELATIONS AND THE FAMILY SYSTEM IN BULIMIA: A THEORETICAL INTEGRATION
Author(s) -
Humphrey Laura Lynn,
Stern Steven
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
journal of marital and family therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.868
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1752-0606
pISSN - 0194-472X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-0606.1988.tb00756.x
Subject(s) - object relations theory , conceptualization , id, ego and super ego , psychology , transgenerational epigenetics , object (grammar) , construct (python library) , quality (philosophy) , interpersonal communication , interpersonal relationship , developmental psychology , social psychology , psychoanalytic theory , psychotherapist , epistemology , computer science , artificial intelligence , pregnancy , philosophy , offspring , biology , genetics , programming language
This paper presents an integration of object relations theory and family systems theory in the conceptualization of bulimia. It is based primarily on Winnicott's construct of the maternal “holding environment,” and Klein's formulation of ego deficits at the level of part‐object relations, as they apply to the family as a whole. We propose that in bulimic families there are transgenerational developmental deficits and adaptations which determine the level and quality of intrapsychic experience within individuals, as well as the interpersonal relationships and dynamic functioning of the larger family system.