The Fantasy Bond: Effects of Psychological Defenses on Interpersonal Relations

by Firestone, Robert W.

ISBN13: 9780967668406

ISBN10: 0967668409

Format: Paperback

Pub. Date: 1987-12-01

Publisher(s): Lightning Source Inc

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Summary

This book offers a hypothesis centering around the concept of the "Fantasy Bond," an illusion of connection formed with the mother and later with significant others in the individual's environment.

Author Biography

Robert Firestone received his B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley, his M.A. from California State University at Los Angeles, and his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Denver. Dr. Firestone is fully occupied as an author and film maker as well as a clinician. He serves as a consulting psychologist for several large corporations, applying his theoretical concepts to productivity and morale.

Acknowledgments	p. 15
Foreword	p. 17
Preface	p. 21
Introduction	p. 25
The Core Defense
The Fantasy Bond: A Developmental Overview	p. 35
The Concept of "Love-Food"	p. 37
Determinants of the Fantasy Bond	p. 38
Characteristics of the Inadequate Mother as Contrasted with Those of the "Good Mother"	p. 39
Pseudo-Independence and the Process of Incorporation	p. 40
The Fantasy Bond in the Adult	p. 41
Defenses Against Threats to the Primary Fantasy Bond	p. 42
Reactions to Positive Experiences	p. 43
Joanne	p. 44
Conclusion	p. 46
Hunger Versus Love	p. 48
The Fantasy Bond and the Traditional Family	p. 49
Carol	p. 50
Hunger and the Myth of Family Love	p. 52
The Operations of Love	p. 54
Hunger and Overprotection	p. 55
Couple and Family Bonds	p. 57
The Development of a Couple Bond	p. 58
Symptoms of a Couple Bond	p. 59
Other Characteristics of a Bond	p. 61
Family Bonds	p. 66
Communication in Couple and Family Bonds	p. 69
Conclusion	p. 71
Organization of the Defensive Process	p. 73
The Primary Defense	p. 73
Secondary Defenses	p. 73
Recapitulating the Past	p. 75
The Basic Components of the Defense System	p. 78
Processes that Break into the Primary Fantasy Bond	p. 81
Conclusion	p. 82
Idealization of the Family	p. 84
Origin of the Idealization of the Parents	p. 85
The Effect of Challenging the Idealized Image of Parents and Family	p. 86
The Essential Division in Schizophrenia	p. 89
The False Superiority of the Family	p. 90
The Idealization of Substitute Parental Figures	p. 92
The Good Mother/Bad Father	p. 94
Resistance to Breaking the Idealization of the Parent	p. 96
Implications for Therapy	p. 97
The Negative Self-Concept	p. 99
The Inner Voice--The Language of the Defensive Process	p. 101
The Voice as Distinguished from a "Conscience"	p. 103
How the "Voice" Contributes to the Formation of the Negative Self-Concept	p. 104
Origins of the Negative Self-Image	p. 106
Determinants of the Negative Self-Concept	p. 109
Imitation of Negative Parental Traits	p. 110
Compensation Perpetuates the Negative Self-Concept	p. 113
Resistance to Changing the Negative Self-Concept	p. 114
Displacement of Negative Parental Characteristics and the Development of a Victimized or Paranoid Approach to Life	p. 115
The Development of Distorted Views of Others	p. 116
Passivity and the Paranoid Process	p. 117
Severe Paranoid States	p. 118
The Role of the Voice in Paranoid Thinking	p. 119
Stereotypic Thinking	p. 122
Conclusion	p. 124
Inwardness and the Loss of Feeling	p. 125
The Voice's Role in Cutting Off Feelings	p. 126
Suppression of Pain and the Protection of the Family	p. 127
The Effects of Suppressing Pain	p. 128
The Inward State and Fantasy	p. 129
Breaking Bonds--Disturbing the Equilibrium of an Inward Life Style	p. 130
Impersonal vs. Personal Relating	p. 132
Inwardness and Its Contribution to Withholding	p. 135
Withholding	p. 137
Withholding and Fantasy Gratification	p. 138
Hostile Withholding	p. 139
The Role of the "Voice" in Withholding	p. 141
An Analysis of the Dynamics of Withholding	p. 142
Women's Compulsion to Imitate the Withholding Mother	p. 144
The Effect of Withholding on Male Children	p. 145
Sexual Withholding	p. 146
Sexual Withholding in Men	p. 148
The Effect of Sexual Withholding on the Man	p. 149
Jealousy and Withholding	p. 151
Dynamics of Withholding in Relationships	p. 151
Conclusion	p. 153
Self-Nourishing Habits and Painkillers	p. 156
Development of Habitual Self-Feeding Patterns	p. 157
Addiction to Physical Substances	p. 158
Addiction to Routines and Habitual Responses	p. 162
Self-Destructive Use of Private, Isolated Time	p. 166
Rationalizing Self-Nourishing Habit Patterns	p. 167
A Bond as an Addiction to Another Person	p. 168
Conclusion	p. 169
Theoretical Issues
Separation, Regression, and Fusion	p. 173
Separation	p. 175
Developmental Stages of Individuation and Separation	p. 176
Emotional Reactions to Separation	p. 178
Regression and Fusion	p. 182
Helmuth Kaiser--Fusion-Delusion	p. 183
Symptoms of Regression and the Fused State	p. 183
Regressions Typical of Specific Developmental Stages	p. 184
The Bipolar Causality of Regression	p. 185
Regression Due to Achievement or Success	p. 187
Holding on to the "Inner Child"	p. 188
Becoming a Parent and Subsequent Regression	p. 189
Conclusion	p. 190
Psychosis	p. 192
Stages in the Development of Schizophrenia	p. 193
Historical Development of the Author's Conception of the Schizophrenic Process	p. 196
The Role of Fantasy in Schizophrenia	p. 198
Dimensions of the Self-Mothering Process	p. 199
The Self-Parenting Aspect of Hallucination	p. 200
The Concept of the Perverse Mother in Schizophrenia	p. 201
Characteristics of the "Malevolent" Mother	p. 202
The Concept of Love-Food	p. 205
Anxiety and the Central Conflict	p. 206
Qualitative Changes in the Schizophrenic Regression	p. 207
Psychotherapy with Schizophrenic Patients	p. 209
Conclusion	p. 212
Sexuality	p. 214
The Oral Basis of Sexuality	p. 216
Incest in Schizophrenia	p. 217
Homosexuality and Confused Sexual Identification in Schizophrenia	p. 218
The Oral Basis of Sexuality in the Neurotic or "Normal" Person	p. 219
The Development of Sexual Identity in the Normal Individual	p. 220
Adult Expressions of Sexuality	p. 223
Conclusion	p. 226
Society and Conventionality	p. 228
Distortions of Conventional Values as Rationalizations for Self-Denial	p. 230
The Improbability of Parents Loving Their Children Despite Their Good Intentions	p. 231
Conventions and Institutions that Support the "Voice"	p. 233
Traditional Religious Views of the Body and Sexuality	p. 234
Conventional Views about the Family that Support Defenses	p. 235
The Mixed Messages of Society	p. 238
Conclusion	p. 240
The Development of Individual Defenses Against Death Anxiety	p. 241
The Relationship Between Separation Anxiety and Death Anxiety	p. 243
Stages in the Child's Discovery of Death	p. 245
Symptoms of Denial and Repression of an Awareness of Death in Children	p. 247
Symptoms of Children's Underlying Concern About Death	p. 248
How the Defensive Process Works as a Protection Against Death Anxiety	p. 249
Conclusion	p. 254
Conventional Defenses Against Death Anxiety	p. 255
"Maturity"--Ultimate Self-Denial or Partial Suicide	p. 256
Religion--Hope of Life After Death	p. 268
Nationalism and Totalitarianism--Immortality Through a Cause	p. 269
Couple Bonds--Addiction to the Other as an Ultimate Rescuer	p. 272
Gene Survival--Immortality Through One's Children	p. 273
Creativity--"The Burden of Genius"	p. 274
Conclusion	p. 275
Implications for Therapy
Psychotherapy Overview	p. 279
Theory of Resistance	p. 279
Feeling Release Therapy	p. 287
Voice Therapy	p. 298
Brief Review of the Concept of the Voice	p. 299
Development of Methodology	p. 301
Methods for Eliciting the Voice	p. 303
Summary of Findings from Voice Therapy	p. 321
Corrective Suggestions	p. 322
Breaking Self-Feeding Habits and Dependency Behaviors	p. 325
Breaking into the Patient's Inwardness and Involvement in Fantasy	p. 327
Controlling Provoking Behavior and Interfering with Withholding Patterns	p. 331
Suggestions for Disrupting Bonds	p. 334
Suggestions for Exploring a New Identity and Overcoming Fears	p. 337
Conclusion	p. 340
The Psychotherapeutic Community	p. 342
Historical Development of the Psychotherapeutic Community	p. 344
Dimensions of the Community	p. 356
Point of View	p. 365
Motivational Dishonesty: People Don't Want What They Say They Want	p. 367
The Duplicity of Couples in a Bond	p. 371
Withholding	p. 372
Manipulations Through Guilt and Anger	p. 375
The Inevitable Destructiveness of Defenses	p. 376
Conclusions about Men, Women, and Sex that Contradict Popular Myths and Sexual Stereotypes	p. 377
The Destructiveness of Conventionality	p. 381
Application of Theory to Child Rearing	p. 382
The Therapeutic Value of Friendship	p. 385
Existential Issues	p. 386
Summary of Theory of Resistance	p. 388
References	p. 391
Index	p. 399
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