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This scholarly paper is a must for every analyst interested in understanding the question of the otherness and separateness of the object, be it real, imaginary, internal or external and in departing from the concept of projective identification. The understanding of this concept is of a particular importance for Jungians, as we have to deal with Jung's legacy. Jung gave a description of ‘projective identification’ as we now know it (Jung 1971, para. 197) and implicitly referred to the notion of participation mystique or identity (Jung 1971, para. 441) to describe the basic property of the unconscious way of functioning between subject and (external or/and internal) object. This paper could be a point of departure for further investigation and elaboration for those who are not clear about the differences and similarities between the Jungian and the Kleinian models. Giovanna Regazzoni Goretti responds to the challenge ‘if the patient was putting his feelings into the analyst' by revisiting the concept of projective identification. She analyses the evolution and meaning of projective identification during the past 60 years. She discusses the following papers; ‘Notes on some schizoid mechanisms’ , ‘On identification’ , ‘Analysis ofa schizophrenic state with depersonalization’ and ‘Remarks on the relations of male homosexuality to paranoia and paranoid anxieties’ as legitimizing the different ways in which projective identification is currently used. Regazzoni Goretti identifies the multitude of meanings currently contained within projective identification and questions the usefulness of retaining the concept of projective identification. The corollary of this paper is to consider whether it is possible to know reality without having recourse to projective identification.
Regazzoni Goretti explores the historical background, the evolution and the function of projective identification, ending with a summary of the current usage of the concept.
The historical background.