The power of a symbiotic transference in early childhood trauma

A symbiotic desire is often expressed in the psychoanalytic relationship. This is even more true in early–traumatised patients who did not have a healthy symbiosis. This article explores how as therapists we can allow ourselves to be inhabited and changed by our patients, and how symbiotic transference is an important therapeutic tool to stimulate growth of the self. It is essential as a therapist to tolerate the temporary fusion, where there is no distinction between self and other, long enough to untangle the undifferentiated tangle at a later time. With inspiration from José Bleger's contribution, this article illustrates an intense search for a balance between fusion and separation in the therapeutic relationship.