The loss of the transitional object - Some thoughts about transitional and ‘pre-transitional’ phenomena

This study describes the mentalization-based child therapy of a boy who suffered from early abuse and neglect, who was living in a shelter in southern Brazil. This single case study aimed at assessing whether this kind of psychotherapy contributes to reducing depressive symptoms and developing a greater capacity for reflection on the mental states of self and other, as part of developing a more coherent sense of self. Structured assessments were conducted before therapy and after six months of treatment, and the audio-recorded treatment sessions were analyzed using content analysis, in order to identify key themes in the treatment itself. The results suggested a significant improvement in depressive symptoms and some changes in mentalization with the beginnings of a movement toward a more cohesive and integrated self. We argue that mentalization-based child therapy could be a promising therapeutic approach for children who have experienced severe disruptions of emotional bonds, due to the way it focuses on the capacity to regulate affect and develop a more coherent sense of self.

It is argued that founders’ identities provide valuable insights in understanding differences across those founders’ behaviors and their enterprises. Until recently, however, entrepreneurship literature has been drawn only on two prominent identity theories – social identity theory (SIDT), role identity theory (IDT), and the combination of both. This study suggests that there is an additional stream of identity research that will be helpful in reconciling the discrepancies between the two prominent identity theories and in providing a more coherent sense of oneself. Narrative identity literature, based on social constructionist perspective, suggests that people construct their current identity by reflecting on their past life stories and narratively weaving them together so it can give answers to the question of ‘how I came to be.’ In other words, narrative identity construction provides people with coherent sense of self that runs through temporal horizon of one’s life. SIDT and IDT, respectively, has its advantage in understanding entrepreneurs’ identity based on their belongingness to certain social categories and their assumed roles. However, these two theories do not explain well about the changes over one’s life course. Narrative founder identity will make the field overcome this shortcoming by looking at entrepreneurs’ identity in terms of its temporal integration of discrete social and role identities in certain points in time of their life histories.

Drawing on data from a study of middle-class women undergoing the transition to motherhood, this paper critically examines the early 1990s' work of Giddens and Beck on self-identity. Parallels with the work of Giddens and Beck are drawn, but it is argued that more attention needs to be paid to gendered and embodied identity. Using discourse analysis, it is suggested that the women are ‘excused’ from aspects of their identity in the process of pregnancy, but remain within the same regime of subjectification. Six dimensions of an altered sense of self are identified, and the discourses on which the women draw in maintaining a coherent sense of self are discussed. The concept of a refracted self is proposed as a means of theorising these changes.

<p>According to the 2006 Census (Statistics New Zealand, 2007), more than one-fifth of the New Zealand population is born overseas. Immigrants play an active role in New Zealand economic and demographic growth, with more new arrivals choosing to settle in New Zealand every year. While research into migrant issues is on the rise, the impact of growing cultural diversity on national identity requires further investigation, especially in relation to many ethnic groups underrepresented in social sciences. This thesis presents the research into the issues of identity construction among Russian-speaking immigrants, a group never investigated before in New Zealand and only infrequently elsewhere. The objective of this work is to fill the knowledge gap in this area by providing information on the socio-cultural context of immigration experiences of Russians in New Zealand and investigating the way their identity is constructed through mainstream discourses and in the personal accounts of 21 participants from Wellington. The nature of this thesis is qualitative and interdisciplinary. The theoretical foundation draws on social constructionism (Burr, 1995; Gergen, 1991) and discourse theory (Foucault, 1972; Howarth, 2000). Socio-historically, this scholarship may be located within the broader frames of the postmodern critique of globalization and transnationalism (Bauman, 1998; el-Ojeili & Hayden, 2006). One of the objectives of this research was to apply and evaluate different qualitative frameworks and paradigms in order to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the issue under investigation. The combination of different analytical methods and techniques included: thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006), Critical Discourse Analysis (Fairclough, 1989; Wodak, 1996), positioning theory (Harre & Van Langenhove, 1999), ethnography and narrative analysis (Merriam, 2002). The first study presents a critical discourse analysis of identity constructions of Russian-speaking immigrants articulated by New Zealand mainstream print media. Consistent with international and New Zealand research on media portrayals of immigrants, the overall representation of this migrant group in New Zealand media follows the general trends of criminalization, homogenization and commodification of immigrants, with the dominant construction of them as a 'problem' to New Zealand society. Two other studies use in-depth ethnographic interviews as the data collection method. The first interview presents a narrative analysis of a case study of a Russian Jewish woman who has experienced double migration from Russia to Israel and then to New Zealand. Lara's story vividly illustrates the process of social construction in relation to her sense of self in three different cultures. It reveals the interaction between the power of social forces in dictating rules for identity formation and the role of agency in an individual's striving for a coherent sense of self. The analysis of 20 in-depth interviews with Russian-speaking immigrants in Wellington identifies the most common and salient patterns of identity construction in this group. Many participants report the feelings of identity loss and exclusion, based on their understanding of negative attitudes and wide-spread stereotypes among the host population. While some participants try to negotiate inferior identity constructions assigned to them on the basis of their 'outsider' status, others strive for constructing a new type of identity - cosmopolitan identity - which they locate within the global, rather than any local, context. These findings contribute to the recent developments in social science research in such areas as identity studies, discourse, globalisation, transnationalism and cosmopolitanism.</p>

ABSTRACTThis article examines the experience of being seen and analyzes its central role in the formation of a coherent sense of self. Tove Jansson’s short story from 1962, ‘The Invisible Child’, serves as the red thread of the article, and the story is analyzed in the light of Donald Winnicott’s work on social mirroring. The analysis is enriched by the psychoanalytic insights of Veikko Tähkä and Heinz Kohut, and complemented by Axel Honneth’s philosophical elaborations as well as by recent developmental findings as presented by Vasudevi Reddy. The article is divided into an introduction and three sections. After summarizing Jansson’s story in the introduction, the first section elaborates and examines different senses of social invisibility. The second section assesses developmental factors that promote social invisibility and highlights the importance of being seen. The third and final section interprets Jansson’s story as an analogy to an intensive therapeutic process, while pinpointing those elements that facilitate the restructuring of a disturbed sense of self. As a whole, the article thus discusses an issue that is often simply taken for granted in discussions of empathy and interpersonal experience: social visibility.

During the life cycle, women will undergo different changes that inevitably alter self perception. The unannounced visit of the menarche that brings along other physical changes such as secondary sex characteristics and the dramatic bodily and emotional changes during pregnancy and menopause continuously forces a reconstruction and adjustment to the sense of self. Such dramatic changes sometimes result in conscious and unconscious conflicts related to present and past maturational periods of development. In this paper, I would like to concentrate in the importance of the puerperal experience from a psychodynamic lens in an attempt to phrase conscious and unconscious events that occur in the shift from pregnancy to child rearing. One of the important aspects of pregnancy that sometimes we women are oblivious is the continuous shift of libido during the entire process. Freud differentiates narcissistic libido from object libido, the first one serving as a fuel to integrate a coherent sense of self that can either be successful during the pre oedipal phase or limited. Once the narcissistic libido is satisfied it can transform into object libido in an attempt to create a relationship with the outside world. It is important to mention that even though one can attempt to hold a close relationship with reality it can be at the service of narcissistic libido using objects in the outside world to solely satisfy narcissistic needs in an autoerotic way. It is important to mention this distinction in order to talk about the shift of libido during pregnancy. First of all, a woman has to use her object libido to get pregnant that is, she has to reach another object to conceive a baby. Pregnancy is a state that could be understood as a very narcissistic one where many women can feel ultimately “complete”. The feeling of having a human being inside her womb can be very powerful, people will take care of her, sexual experience is often limited and an internal journey takes place as libido is taken inwardly in order to preserve a balanced state that reassures the process.

Current phenomenological approaches consider schizophrenia as a fundamental disturbance of the embodied self, or a disembodiment. This includes (1) a weakening of the basic sense of self, (2) a disruption of implicit bodily functioning, and (3) a disconnection from the intercorporeality with others. As a result of this disembodiment, the pre-reflective, practical immersion of the self in the shared world is lost. Instead, the relationship of self and world is in constant need of being reconstructed by deliberate efforts, leading to the growing perplexity and hyperreflexive ruminations that are found in schizophrenia patients. The paper distinguishes different levels of self-experience and relates them to the psychopathology of schizophrenia, taking particularly into account disturbances of self-awareness, perception, action, and intersubjectivity. On this basis, psychotherapeutic approaches based on body awareness and movement techniques are outlined that are suited to foster self-management and enable patients to re-establish a more stable and coherent sense of self.

Purpose: Adults with cerebral palsy (CP) experience multiple, functional changes as they age, including changes to communication modes and methods that enable development and maintenance of relationships, communicative participation and quality-of-life. Little is known about the nature of communication changes experienced by this group. The aim of this study was to better understand how adults with CP experience changes in their communication abilities as they age and the subsequent psychosocial impact.Method: Twenty adults with cerebral palsy aged 40–72 years with complex communication needs (CCN) participated in a series of in-depth interviews, framing their experiences of loss and grief throughout their lives. The impact of changing communication abilities emerged as an important area of focus. Data were analysed using constructivist grounded theory methodology.Result: Themes arising from the participants’ perceptions of their communication included experiencing communication change as a loss with subsequent impact on self-concept; and how communication is integral to the process of managing losses associated with older age.Conclusion: Implications for speech-language pathologists working with older people with cerebral palsy and CCN include the need to understand the psychosocial impact of communication changes on social interaction, relationships and communicative participation. It is important to promote positive and meaningful communication options that maintain a coherent sense of self in addition to promoting functional communication skills and communicative participation.

Quest, chaos and restitution: Living with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis

ABSTRACTIntrapreneurs—employees participating in internal corporate venturing (ICV) programs—are vital in nurturing entrepreneurship within organizations. While existing literature has extensively studied ICV at the organizational level, research on individual‐level processes remains limited, particularly regarding intrapreneurs' identity‐related conflicts over time. However, to design programs and interventions that unlock employees' creative potential and promote innovation, it is crucial to understand these individual dynamics. We conducted an 18‐month longitudinal study of 21 intrapreneurs within an ICV program, developing a process model and theory of intrapreneurs' identity work. We find that aspiring intrapreneurs construct an “idealized entrepreneur identity” that fundamentally conflicts with their employee identity. To maintain a coherent sense of self, they either safeguard their emerging entrepreneur identity by denying corporate dependence and eventually opposing the organization or they realign with their employee role, forsaking their intrapreneurial aspirations. These findings challenge the implicit assumption of a distinct intrapreneur identity, demonstrating how and why intrapreneurs struggle to construct a coherent and positively valued identity as intrapreneurs. We term this phenomenon the intrapreneur identity illusion and highlight its detrimental effects for both individuals and organizations. Our research contributes to understanding the individual‐level foundations of corporate entrepreneurship and offers broader implications for innovation management.

Higher proneness to multisensory illusions is driven by reduced temporal sensitivity in people with high schizotypal traits.

Understanding one’s sexual orientation plays a significant role in contributing to one’s sexual identity and developing a coherent sense of self. Misconceptions and prevailing prejudices make it difficult for bisexual individuals to navigate their sexual identities in many societies. Disclosure of one’s identity is accompanied by certain risks depending on how the information is received. However, disclosing one’s identity can also be positive, especially as it assists in fostering relationships. This article derives from a descriptive study involving 14 semi-structured interviews with young adults aged 18–24 who identified as bisexual. Data were subjected to a reflexive thematic analysis. Themes of invalidation, belongingness and reclaiming through ‘inviting in’ were identified. By processing the feelings of invalidation regarding their bisexual identities which were placed upon them by their respective cultural groups, and society in general, participants were able to develop a sense of agency and reclaim their power. Findings highlight the need for further research on bisexuality, particularly in South Africa, and the need to understand how bisexual identity development occurs in interaction with other sexual and gender identities.

“I look in the mirror and I say, ‘who’s that?' I don't really know who I am anymore! I have lost the person I thought I was.” Patient, Prospect Hospice.Arguably...

Contemporary transitions in the delivery of health and social care are a global phenomenon. They prompt a particular need to reconsider how quality in relation to professional practice should be understood and whether greater importance should be attached to values such as goodwill, altruism and commitment. Based on a qualitative study of a small voluntary sector organisation in the North of England, this paper addresses how changes in policy articulate with the identities of professionals who work in learning disability services. Drawing on MacIntyre's After Virtue, which is discussed in relation to some recent sociological debates on emotion, it is suggested that professionals have an emotionally based commitment to their work as well as to the people they work with. Professional commitment is embedded in a coherent sense of self that problematises traditional binaries between the private and the public, and the cognitive and affective. The participants in this study appeared to pursue what MacIntyre terms the 'internal goods' of practice; they valued being able to work innovatively and responsively with service users. It is suggested that this requires a particular type of relationship with oneself, with others, and with practice, which engenders a criticality towards dominant professional discourses.

The Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (AMPD) distinguishes severity of personality dysfunction (Criterion A) from maladaptive trait expression (Criterion B). Debates about whether the Level of Personality Functioning Scale (LPFS) is unidimensional or multidimensional have attracted considerable attention but largely miss the point. Personality functioning, as conceived within psychodynamic developmental theory, is singular by definition-not because factor analyses extract a dominant factor but because psychological development itself is one process. The DSM-5 Work Group constructed Criterion A from psychodynamic instruments that interpret personality pathology as failures to develop a stable, coherent sense of self, and the capacity for meaningful relationships. Evidence for this developmental achievement appears in identity, self-direction, empathy, and intimacy, but these domains reflect facets of a single capacity rather than separable dimensions. This commentary traces the psychodynamic roots of Criterion A, integrates contemporary trait research to clarify how Criteria A and B differ conceptually, addresses key psychometric critiques, and outlines treatment implications.