Chapter 7 Projective Identification: The Analyst's Involvement35

In Klein's original formulation of the mechanism of projective identification she referred to an unconscious phantasy in which the patient expelled what were usually disturbing contents into another object. This object is partially transformed in the patient's mind as a consequence of the projection, being now possessed of qualities the patient has expelled. In addition to its use as a method of evacuation, Klein suggested that projective identification may fulfil a variety of other unconscious functions for the patient, such as leading to him believing that he possesses the object, or controls it from within. These projective processes usually alternate with introjective ones. Thus the phantasy of forceful entry into the object by parts of the self in order to possess or control the object creates problems with normal introjection, which the patient may find difficult to distinguish from forceful entry from the outside, in retribution for his own violent projections (Klein, 1946, p. 11).

The exploration of these unconscious phantasies has increased our understanding of the functions and defensive needs these primitive mental mechanisms serve for the patient. While the elucidation of these processes has, in the past, often seemed to emphasise the analyst's role as a dispassionate observer, the impingement of the patient's

phantasies and actions on the analyst has in fact been recognised from the earliest days of psychoanalysis. Following the early work of Heimann (1950) and Racker (1958a) there has been increasing interest in the systematic investigation of the way in which the patient's phantasies, expressed in gross or subtle, verbal or non-verbal means, may come to influence the analyst's state of mind and behaviour. Fairbairn wrote: ‘in a sense, psychoanalytical treatment resolves itself into a str