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Recently, introjective-projective processes have received considerable attention (see Grotstein, 1981; Klein, 1946; Ogden, 1982). As clinicians study the structural aspects of psychopathology, they are including projective identification in their formulations more and more. In my opinion, this process has received too much attention, but it certainly is relevant when we direct our attention to counter-transference interactions.
I want to comment briefly on why I believe that projective identification as a separate process has been overemphasized. It is a ubiquitous phenomenon that operates with varying degrees of intensity. Inherent in every sensory impression are elements of projective identification. The sensory apparatus is part of the self-representation and bears its imprint. We do not hear, see, or form any impression in a purely objective manner. Our perceptions are colored by our general characterological orientation and contain our biases. In other words, a part of our personality is projected into every precept as it undergoes the process of being internalized. Freud (1925) may have meant something similar when he wrote about preconscious feelers reaching out to meet the incoming stimulus halfway.
If the character structure of the adult is in tune with the current milieu, in that its modus operandi, adaptive mechanisms, and modes of relating are in harmony with the exigencies of reality, the projective aspect of projective identification is more or less silent. Clinicians view such persons as having good reality testing. Their sensory systems are in synchrony with how the world is generally perceived, so their projections and judgment are acceptable and usually do not contain idiosyncratic elements related to peculiar personality traits.
I have already discussed how introjective mechanisms may cause the therapist to internalize the patient's inner chaos and experience countertransference difficulties that are the outcome of increased vulnerability