Wolf uses the psychology of the self to organize his discussion of the case. He points out the early excessive idealization of others (in particular, Dr. Z) coupled with an apparent abnegation of the patient's own self. When Dr. Z interferes with these idealizations and merger fantasies, Mrs. X becomes frantic and fears she will die. Wolf sees the "so-called self-destructive behavior" as attempts to reassure herself that she is alive and to define her boundaries. He speculates that her earlier roles as mother and teacher had provided her with needed merger fantasies and selfobject experiences that staved off fragmentation. Wolf feels that the therapy moves forward because of a process of "disruptive-restorative events" that involve Dr. Pearson's having done something that interfered with Mrs. X's needs for an idealizable, perfect selfobject and the subsequent discussion of the disruption between patient and therapist. He sees her anger and fear as secondary to those disruptions of the idealized selfobject.