Posted by gardenergirl on July 6, 2006, at 15:51:20
In reply to Re: Projective identification stands up/ recognize, posted by frida on July 2, 2006, at 18:14:39
It's hard to describe, isn't it? Very confusing. I can relate to your T saying that it helped her to better understand what it was like for you. It's beyond empathy and moves into actually experiencing the feelings, which can be quite intense. Of course, it's also an interpretation, which is open to debate and could be wrong, but...it's a useful phenomenon to talk about in therapy, I think.
And I should add that just because someone might use a defense mechanism from time to time doesn't mean anything about their overall mental health or functioning. It's the sum total of our behaviors and functioning that counts, not individual incidences.
gg
poster:gardenergirl
thread:663469
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20060703/msgs/664541.html