Self-envy
Encyclopedia
Self-envy is a psychoanalytic term coined by Rafael López-Corvo
who sustains that it is crucial for the understanding of disorders of the self that are manifested in addictions, acting out, and inhibition of creativity. This concept is based on the use of object relations theory
, that many psychoanalysts view as a fundamental instrument for examining the architecture of the internal world that describes behavior as influenced by the multiple interactions of early representations of self and other that operate in our inner selves.
Self-envy is produced by 'child part self-objects', self representations from early development that remain split off from the self and harbor destructive and envious feelings toward the creative aspects of the self and results from direct aggressive attacks by these childhood self-objects against the part of the self identified with a harmonious mother-father or parent-sibling relationship.
The internal dynamics of self-envy cause intense unconscious
conflict, dissociation, and disturbances of the self, all of which underlie severe psychopathologies
, such as repetitive destructive behavior, and even the living of seemingly normal but constricted lives. López-Corvo
believes that the psychoanalytic interpretation of such patients, for whom one part of the self is ruthlessly pitted against another, should address directly the phenomenon of a war within the internal self.
W.C.M. Scott first used this word in 1975 in his article Remembering sleep and dreaming: self-envy and envy of dreams and dreaming. "Int. Rev. Psychoanal., 2:333-354
Rafael Lopez-Corvo did credit Scott in his paper About Interpretation of Self-Envy: Int. J Psycho-Anal: (1992) 73, 719
Rafael E. López-Corvo
Rafael E. Lopez-Corvo is a psychoanalyst. He served on the editorial board of the International Journal of Psycho-Analysis and was an associate professor at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He has a private practice in Toronto...
who sustains that it is crucial for the understanding of disorders of the self that are manifested in addictions, acting out, and inhibition of creativity. This concept is based on the use of object relations theory
Object relations theory
Object relations theory is a psychodynamic theory within psychoanalytic psychology. The theory describes the process of developing a mind as one grows in relation to others in the environment....
, that many psychoanalysts view as a fundamental instrument for examining the architecture of the internal world that describes behavior as influenced by the multiple interactions of early representations of self and other that operate in our inner selves.
Self-envy is produced by 'child part self-objects', self representations from early development that remain split off from the self and harbor destructive and envious feelings toward the creative aspects of the self and results from direct aggressive attacks by these childhood self-objects against the part of the self identified with a harmonious mother-father or parent-sibling relationship.
The internal dynamics of self-envy cause intense unconscious
Unconscious mind
The unconscious mind is a term coined by the 18th century German romantic philosopher Friedrich Schelling and later introduced into English by the poet and essayist Samuel Taylor Coleridge...
conflict, dissociation, and disturbances of the self, all of which underlie severe psychopathologies
Psychopathology
Psychopathology is the study of mental illness, mental distress, and abnormal/maladaptive behavior. The term is most commonly used within psychiatry where pathology refers to disease processes...
, such as repetitive destructive behavior, and even the living of seemingly normal but constricted lives. López-Corvo
Rafael E. López-Corvo
Rafael E. Lopez-Corvo is a psychoanalyst. He served on the editorial board of the International Journal of Psycho-Analysis and was an associate professor at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He has a private practice in Toronto...
believes that the psychoanalytic interpretation of such patients, for whom one part of the self is ruthlessly pitted against another, should address directly the phenomenon of a war within the internal self.
W.C.M. Scott first used this word in 1975 in his article Remembering sleep and dreaming: self-envy and envy of dreams and dreaming. "Int. Rev. Psychoanal., 2:333-354
Rafael Lopez-Corvo did credit Scott in his paper About Interpretation of Self-Envy: Int. J Psycho-Anal: (1992) 73, 719
Articles and books
- Rafael E. López-CorvoRafael E. López-CorvoRafael E. Lopez-Corvo is a psychoanalyst. He served on the editorial board of the International Journal of Psycho-Analysis and was an associate professor at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He has a private practice in Toronto...
Self-Envy, Therapy and the Divided Inner World, Jason AronsonJason AronsonJason Aronson is an American publisher of books in the field of psychotherapy. Topics dealt with in these books include child therapy, family therapy, couple therapy, object relations therapy, play therapy, depression, eating disorders, personality disorders, substance abuse, sexual abuse, stress,...
, New York, 1994