Identity Disturbance in Distant Patients

Chronically distant, emotionally isolated patients often present with identity disturbance. Identity, it is argued, develops as a thematic pattern of narcissism, shaped by the nature of the mother's early libidinal influences on the child's sense of self. Identity provides a form of self-definition that addresses the question, Who am I? In the treatment of these patients, resistances to narcissistic vulnerabilities (narcissistic resistances) provide an illusory sense of security and induce the analyst to avoid attention to a central pathological problem: primitive and frightening needs for, and unconscious fantasies of, dependence on, and functionality for, another. Patients' avoidance of material and therapeutic interactions that deal with their dependencies are aspects of a tacit contract with the analyst to foreclose examination of their considerable problems with inner stability. Among these problems are anxieties regarding intrusion and loss of separateness. As analysis proceeds, elements of such a patient's identity become clarified and are used to understand and organize the material for both analyst and patient. This can allow the patient to articulate a more embodied and vital experience of individuality. A case is presented to illustrate the analysis of a patient using this approach.