Two Systems of Self-Regulation and the Differential Application of Psychoanalytic Technique* Presenters: Kerry Kelly Novick and Jack Novick, Ph.D. Date: February 7, 2002

Novick and Novick's presentation was a valuable contribution to developmental psychoanalysis and how theory can help inform psychoanalytic technique. They describe two possible systems of self-regulation that an individual can choose from as alternative ways of responding to helplessness and resolving conflict. The first one they describe as being an “open” system, one in which the individual (a) has realistic perceptions of self and other, (b) has access to experiencing a full range of emotions, and (c) is open to experience from both inside and outside. Open-system functioning is characterized by flexibility, competence, effectiveness, creativity, and mutually respectful and pleasurable relationships. The second system they describe is referred to as being “closed” and is characterized by rigidity, omnipotence, and repetitious sadomasochistic enactments. Both of these systems of self-regulation provide a sense of security for the individual in the face of overwhelming experience. The difference between the two is that one solution is grounded in reality, whereas the other relies on omnipotent fantasy to transform reality and provide the person with the illusion of being in control of others.

Based on their theoretical formulations of two alternative systems of self-regulation, Novick and Novick proposed several guidelines for thinking about psychoanalytic technique. Their presentation addressed the following questions: (a) What should analysts attend to/listen for as the patient's story unfolds? (b) How do we decide what intervention would facilitate the analytic process at any given moment? In terms of self-regulation, the aim of analysis is to facilitate a shift from closed-system functioning to open-system functioning. Novick and Novick suggested that analysts look for what is adaptive in even the most pathological forms of behavior, or in other words, look for evidence of open-system functioning even when closed-system functioning predominates. In their clinica