Herbert Rosenfeld
Encyclopedia
Herbert Alexander Rosenfeld was a British psychoanalyst, who was born in Germany in 1910 and died in London in 1986.
'British analysts (and many others from abroad) have been deeply influenced by the work and teachings of Rosenfeld who increasingly focused upon the analyst's contribution to what was happening in the analysis - in particular in the event of the analyst and patient getting into an impasse'.
and Hanna Segal
. Among his most significant contributions were 'his pioneering work with projective identification
'; the development of the concept of "confusion"; and the foundation of a theory of destructive narcissism, since taken up and developed by André Green
and Otto Kernberg.
and reintegration. It can therefore be evidence either of improvement or of regression'. In its negative aspect, 'a most powerful element in confusion is envy...Narcissistic organisation protects us from that confusion'.
, Rosenfeld 'conceived of a characteristic internal object - a chimerical montage or monster, one might say - that was constructed of the ego, the ego ideal, and the "mad omnipotent self"...Rosenfeld termed it "narcissistic omnipotent object relations"'.
.
While for some analysts, the negative therapeutic reaction is an insurmountable block, Rosenfeld attempts to show that these "dead ends" are moments that can and should be overcome. 'Linking analytic impasse to envy', Rosenfeld maintained that 'in a conventional analysis it may feel more bearable to remain stuck than allow the analyst to promote therapeutic change'; but if handled innovatively may allow patients to bring back to life for their analyst the impasses they subjectively lived at key moments in their development.
Herbert Rosenfeld at Work: The Italian Seminars (2001)
John Steiner
ed., Rosenfeld in Retrospect (2008)
'British analysts (and many others from abroad) have been deeply influenced by the work and teachings of Rosenfeld who increasingly focused upon the analyst's contribution to what was happening in the analysis - in particular in the event of the analyst and patient getting into an impasse'.
Life
With a medical diploma from Munich (1934), Rosenfeld emigrated to Britain in 1935, where he retook his medical degree. He became a psychiatrist and specialised in the psychoanalytic treatment of psychosis. Analyzed by Melanie Klein, he himself became an analyst in 1945 and continued to work within the Kleinian movement, alongside such figues as Wilfred BionWilfred Bion
Wilfred Ruprecht Bion DSO was an influential British psychoanalyst, who became president of the British Psychoanalytical Society from 1962 to 1965....
and Hanna Segal
Hanna Segal
Hanna Segal was a British psychoanalyst and a follower of Melanie Klein. She was president of the British Psychoanalytical Society, and vice-president of the International Psychoanalytical Association...
. Among his most significant contributions were 'his pioneering work with projective identification
Projective identification
Projective Identification is 'a term first used by Melanie Klein to describe a process whereby parts of the ego are thought of as forced into another person who is then expected to become identified with whatever has been projected'....
'; the development of the concept of "confusion"; and the foundation of a theory of destructive narcissism, since taken up and developed by André Green
André Green
André Green is a French psychoanalyst of global renown.'Among contemporary practitioners, Andre Green...epitomizes an international spirit of independence'.-Life and career:...
and Otto Kernberg.
On "confusion"
For Rosenfeld, 'confusion is an intermediate stage between splittingSplitting (psychology)
Splitting may mean two things: splitting of the mind, and splitting of mental concepts . The latter is thinking purely in extremes Splitting (also called all-or-nothing thinking in cognitive distortion) may mean two things: splitting of the mind, and splitting of mental concepts (or black and...
and reintegration. It can therefore be evidence either of improvement or of regression'. In its negative aspect, 'a most powerful element in confusion is envy...Narcissistic organisation protects us from that confusion'.
Destructive narcissism
Rosenfeld played a leading part in 'Kleinian contributions to our understanding of such phenomena as the dynamics of destructive narcissism'. For Rosenfeld, 'destructive narcissism...is directed against the libidinal ties or bonds of the self to the object'. In narcissismNarcissism
Narcissism is a term with a wide range of meanings, depending on whether it is used to describe a central concept of psychoanalytic theory, a mental illness, a social or cultural problem, or simply a personality trait...
, Rosenfeld 'conceived of a characteristic internal object - a chimerical montage or monster, one might say - that was constructed of the ego, the ego ideal, and the "mad omnipotent self"...Rosenfeld termed it "narcissistic omnipotent object relations"'.
Analytical impasse
His final work, Impasse and Interpretation (1987), focused on the possibility of the overcoming of critical moments with difficult patients. Rosenfeld was increasingly convinced that such 'dangerous impasses...involved the hidden or not so hidden black spots of the analyst', thus pointing the way for the later developments of intersubjective psychoanalysisIntersubjective psychoanalysis
The term "intersubjectivity" introduced in psychoanalysis by George E. Atwood and Robert Stolorow .-The myth of isolated mind:The intersubjective psychoanalysis accused the traditional psychoanalysis of having described the psychic phenomena as "the myth of isolated mind".-Key figures:Heinz Kohut...
.
While for some analysts, the negative therapeutic reaction is an insurmountable block, Rosenfeld attempts to show that these "dead ends" are moments that can and should be overcome. 'Linking analytic impasse to envy', Rosenfeld maintained that 'in a conventional analysis it may feel more bearable to remain stuck than allow the analyst to promote therapeutic change'; but if handled innovatively may allow patients to bring back to life for their analyst the impasses they subjectively lived at key moments in their development.
Further reading
Psychotic states (1965)Herbert Rosenfeld at Work: The Italian Seminars (2001)
John Steiner
John Steiner
John Steiner is an English actor. Tall, thin and gaunt, Steiner attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and worked for a few years at the BBC. Steiner featured in a lead role in a television production of Design for Living by Noel Coward. Later he found further work primarily in films...
ed., Rosenfeld in Retrospect (2008)
External links
(In French)- Notes sur le diagnostic et le traitement psychanalytique des malades "borderline" Herbert Rosenfeld
- Des transferts narcissiques: http://www.megapsy.com/Autres_bibli/biblio146.htm
- L'idéalisation narcissique: http://www.megapsy.com/Autres_bibli/biblio147.htm
- Narcissisme : un example clinique: http://www.megapsy.com/Autres_bibli/biblio148.htm