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Erotic transference and a threatened sense of self
Author(s) -
Kotze Beth,
Meares Russell
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
british journal of medical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.102
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 2044-8341
pISSN - 0007-1129
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8341.1996.tb01847.x
Subject(s) - psychic , sexualization , psychology , psychology of self , phenomenon , threatened species , psychoanalysis , object (grammar) , social psychology , epistemology , human sexuality , sociology , gender studies , philosophy , medicine , ecology , linguistics , alternative medicine , pathology , habitat , biology
In this study of erotic transference the phenomenon is defined in the manner of Freud (1915) and Blum (1973). It involves a circumscribed behaviour which consists of an erotic preoccupation with the therapist which often has the quality of an obsession. It is prolonged, usually for months or years, is relatively immutable, and can be seen as a milder variant of de Clerembault's syndrome. It is suggested that the psychic purpose of the preoccupation is to maintain a threatened sense of self. The erotic content of the preoccupation is likely to be a consequence of the sexualization of the early relationship with caregivers, which was impingeing and disruptive of self‐development. In an illustrative case, the disturbance of this development was considered to include an impediment to the development of the transitional field, the mother herself replacing the transitional object.