You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
I believe it is necessary, for the purpose of this discussion, to divide the treatment setting into several components that are elaborations of familiar elements of the therapeutic process. The two main components clinicians often refer to are the transference-countertransference axis and the holding environment, and in the treatment of patients suffering from primitive mental states, many analysts believe the holding environment is of primary importance to conducting effective treatment.
Within the transference-countertransference context, the analyst makes interpretations that are similar in effect to the mother nurturing her child. Those clinicians who treat patients suffering from character disorders, and most of the patients we see do, like to compare the therapeutic sequence with the course of emotional development since the purpose of treatment is to achieve higher degrees of ego organization and the acquisition of psychic structure. Treatment differs from ordinary development in that the effects of ego defects have to be overcome before the developmental drive can once again be set in motion. In any case interpretations supposedly are integrated and lead to states of better intrapsychic balance and harmony. This occurs within the context of a soothing, holding environment.
The comparison between the treatment relationship and the mother-infant interaction is strengthened as we focus on the interplay of nurturing, soothing, interpretative activity, and the holding