Commentary by an Analytical Psychologist

On reading this session and its introduction, the most striking feature that came to my mind was the patient's controlledness and consequent difficulty in taking in and digesting any attempted interpretive comments from the therapist. Two examples of this are firstly in the introduction when the writer describes his reaction to the interpretations ‘as though they were simply an interruption in his chain of thought’ and secondly, in the session itself when the therapist felt put down by the patient's response, ‘yes, there is something in that, but I want to get back to X’.

In thinking about how to conceptualise this feature of control which is not at all uncommon, I have found Dr Michael Fordham's theory of the original self and the process of deintegrative-reintegrative sequences which form the basis of a two-person relationship of great help and interest. I would also bear in mind examples from my infant observation studies particularly with regard to feeding sequences.

Dr Michael Fordham's theory of the Original Self is a development of Jung's idea of the Self (often with a capital S so that it is distinguished from the more ego-based sense of self - little s). Jung postulates the Self as a ‘psychic totality which includes inherited dispositions, archetypal expectations, closely related to instincts and the potential for wholeness which is unique to every individual’. Whereas Jung thought of ‘individuation’ as a process related to the latter half of one's life, when ego-oriented tasks such as success in work and supporting and raising a family become less pressing, Dr Fordham postulated the theory that individuation starts from the beginning of life. The infant (or foetus) is an unique original Self, undifferentiated but including every archetypal potential for growth. One of these archetypal potentials is to unfold from the self and move out to the external world and have the expectation of meeting something ‘out there’. Most obvious is the expectation to meet a ni