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Two monumental papers written in the 1930's by French (1933) and Kubie (1934) attempted to integrate the theoretical propositions of Freud and Pavlov. Unfortunately at that time there were insufficient data on brain mechanisms to compel clinicians to take their pioneering efforts more seriously.
In this paper an attempt will be made to carry that work forward and utilize a biopsychosocial perspective to bridge the gap between psychoanalytically derived concepts and neurobiological data. In this effort, conditional reflex and learning theory will be utilized as a source of mediating mechanisms. Clinical case material will be briefly reviewed in order to highlight the possible psychobiological significance of the interactions associated with the development of transference expecially as it is reflected in the termination phase of therapy. Because of the affiliative bonding which occurs in part as a result of the transference, a threatened rupture of that bond,' and the threat of loss of a meaningful object, is accompanied by a termination depression, a depression developed when the separation from the analyst becomes imminent.
The assumption is made that the manner in which a person screens, codes, and stores early learning experiences leads to the internal model by which an individual (a) perceives the world, (b) seeks ways to satisfy needs, and Cc) develops object relations. The transference is in part a projection of this internal model, formed in the past, and projected into the current setting.