A clinical case study of some aspects of the significance of the father in the process of separation-individuation

In this study, recent psychodynamic literature on some aspects of the significance of the father in psychological development, is reviewed. Psychoanalytic and analytical perspectives on the father are considered, with particular reference to the father's role in preoedipal development of the daughter. This is seen to be crucial for the facilitation of differentiation, as well as for psychosexual development and the formation of gender identity. The clinical case study-method is employed to illustrate the impact of the father on a depressed woman's struggle towards separation-individuation. Therapy and dream material, taken from thirty sessions of psychodynamic psychotherapy, which occurred over a period of nine months, are analysed and discussed in relation to the various theoretical positions outlined in the literature. It is concluded that for this patient, the persecutory nature of the negative paternal introject contributes significantly to the patient's inability to resist the regressive pull of symbiosis. In addition, the mother's passivity and dependence, as well as the patient's physical disability, are regarded as exacerbating factors.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Department of Psychology

Year dc:date.issued

1992

Author dc:creator

• Cooper, Sue

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Faber, Phillip

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13469

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/13469