Fascination and its Relation to Ego-self States

This paper focuses on experiences of fascination in the transference and countertransference. It suggests that fascination arises through the projection of an internal state where an unconscious content has intruded into the ego. Using clinical examples, it outlines a distinction between fascination as a facilitative process in psychotherapy, and fascination indicative of defence and destructiveness. In the former, fascination is linked to an exploration of symbols and their subsequent release of meaning. In the latter, fascination is considered as an end in itself: a powerfully persuasive fantasy that reality can be dispensed with. The Analytical Psychology concept of the ego-self relationship is briefly outlined with a view to establishing a theoretical base from which to support this distinction, and to suggest that the ego's fascination is elicited through an unfolding archetypal process. The conclusion summarizes these findings and their implications for clinical work.