203: Developments in Ego Psychology
Instructors
Eric Weitzner, M.D.
Jess Olson, Ph.D.
February 28 – May 15, 2024
Wednesdays, 8:35 – 10:00 pm
Co-requisites
Candidates must have at least one case in supervised psychoanalysis to be eligible to take second year courses.
Course Description
With the publication of The Ego and the Id (1923) and Inhibitions, Symptoms and Anxiety (1926), Freud completed the ground plan of psychoanalytic theory (the so called, “structural model”). The main elements of the ground plan were (1) mental structure: id, ego and superego; (2) dual drive theory: libido and the destructive/aggressive drive; (3) the points of view of metapsychology: dynamic, economic and topographic/ structural points of view; (4) a developmental view of the mental drives, affects and structure combined with a genetic conception of conflict and conflict resolution; (5) the oedipus complex as the “nuclear complex of the neuroses” and the “shibboleth” of psychoanalysis.
This course will follow the continuous historical development of that ground plan as it was elaborated, modified, and transformed since 1926 until the present. That development will express a dynamic dialectic whereby theory and clinical practice produced both insights and challenges for each other. This dialectical tension resulted in the longest continuous progressive development in the history of psychoanalysis—called variously (and inadequately) “ego psychology, ” “structural theory,” “classic” or “traditional” psychoanalysis, “conflict theory.”
Of necessity, the papers read in this course will concentrate upon the theoretical element of the dialectic which produced the development under study. However, the clinical bases and the clinical problems involved are inherent in the readings themselves and will be addressed directly. What will not be addressed so directly are the various controversies, inside and outside of psychoanalysis, which surrounded and influenced the course of development outlined here, from the 1920s to the present. Those controversies, important for any adequate understanding of the history of psychoanalysis, would require several other courses to do them justice. Some of your later courses will, in fact, acquaint you with them. But, interesting as those controversies are, they may best be understood in relation to the theoretical-clinical development set out in this course.
The course will be divided, somewhat artificially, into three parts: (I) the structural model and its immediate consequences; (II) developments in the theory of the ego; (III) the superego and narcissism.
I. This section will begin with Freud’s own synopsis and overview of the (then) new ground plan. It will then take up the two most immediate consequences of that last theoretical innovation: the (clinical) analysis of character pathology and the (theoretical) principle of multiple function.
II. This section will follow the developments in the theory of the ego. It will show the very wide implications of the new ego concept, ramifying into areas only modestly addressed by the older theories. This demonstrates that the new theory is the basis of a psychoanalytic general psychology. The areas taken up here are: adaptation, creativity, psychosis, fantasy and love.
III. This section will address various problems connected with the superego concept and the associated issue of narcissism: idealization, narcissistic objects, superego precursors and various efforts to re-define the superego accordingly.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
- describe the development of the structural theory as an achievement culminating in psychoanalysis as a general psychology.
- describe certain problems in superego theory.
Evaluation Method
Each student’s participation in class discussion and his or her demonstration of understanding of the course objectives and reading material is assessed in a written evaluation by the instructor(s).
These articles are protected under relevant copyright regulations. They are available in the New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute Electronic Reserve for your convenience, and for your personal use.
READINGS ARE CONFIRMED.
I. The Structural Model and its Immediate Consequences
CLASS 1: February 28, 2024
REQUIRED READINGS
Freud, S. (1933). New Introductory Lectures on Psycho Analysis. Lecture XXXI: The Dissection of the Psychical Personality and Lecture XXXII: Anxiety and Instinctual Life. Standard Edition 22:57-111.
SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS
Ogden, T.H. (2014). Fear of breakdown and the unlived life. Int. J. Psychoa. 95:205-223.
II. The Structural Model and its Immediate Consequences cont
CLASS 2: March 6, 2024
REQUIRED READINGS
Reich, W. (1945). Character Analysis. (Third, Enlarged Edition) Trans. V.R. Carfagno. Chapter VII: The Characterological Resolution of the Infantile Sexual Conflict (pp. 153-168) AND Chapter X: Some Circumscribed Character Forms (pp. 204-224) New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1984.
III. The Structural Model and its Immediate Consequences cont
CLASS 3: March 13, 2024
REQUIRED READINGS
Waelder, R. (1936). The Principle of Multiple Function: Observations on Over-determination. Psychoanal. Q. 5:45-62.
Read over Freud (1933), above, pp. 77-78.
SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS
Stern, D.B. (2017). Unformulated Experience, Dissociation, and Nachträglichkeit. J. Anal. Psychol., 62(4):501-525.
IV. Developments in the Theory of the Ego
CLASS 4: March 20, 2024
REQUIRED READINGS
For ALL readings in this section, read over Freud (1933), above, pp. 75-80.
Hartmann, H. (1939). Ego Psychology and the Problem of Adaptation. Trans. D. Rappaport. Chapters 1 (The Conflict-Free Ego Sphere) and 4 (Ego Development and Adaptation). pp. 3-21; 48-56. New York: International Universities Press, 1958.
V. Developments in the Theory of the Ego cont
CLASS 5: March 27, 2024
REQUIRED READINGS
Kris, E. (1950). On Preconscious Mental Processes. In: Psychoanalytic Explorations in Art. pp. 303-318. New York: International Universities Press, 1952.
VI. Developments in the Theory of the Ego cont
CLASS 6: April 3, 2024
Beres, D. (1956). Ego Deviation and the Concept of Schizophrenia. Psychoanal. Study Child 11:164-235.
VII. Developments in the Theory of the Ego cont
CLASS 7: April 10, 2024
REQUIRED READINGS
Arlow, J. (1969). Unconscious fantasy and disturbances of conscious experience. Psychoanal. Q. 38:1-27.
Arlow, J. (1969). Fantasy, memory and reality testing. Psychoanal. Q. 38:28-51.
SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS
Arlow, J. (1961). Ego Psychology and the Study of Mythology. J. Amer. Psychoanal. Assn. 9:371-393.
Arlow, J. (1980). Object Concept and Object Choice. Psychoanal. Q. 49: 109-133
Bell, D. (2017). Phantasy: some historical and conceptual dimensions. Int. J. Psychoan. 98:785-798.
VIII. Developments in the Theory of the Ego cont
CLASS 8: April 17, 2024
REQUIRED READINGS
Freud, A. (1937). The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defense. (The International Psycho-analytical Library, No. 30.). Hogarth Press. [Read Chap. 9: Identification with the Aggressor]
IX. The Superego and Narcissism
CLASS 9: April 24, 2024
REQUIRED READINGS
Fenichel, O. (1939). Trophy and Triumph: A Clinical Study. The Collected Papers of Otto Fenichel: Second Series. pp. 141-162.
X. The Superego and Narcissism cont
CLASS 10: May 1, 2024
REQUIRED READINGS
Reich, A. (1953). Narcissistic Object Choice in Women. In: Annie Reich: Psychoanalytic Contributions. pp. 179-208.
SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS
Reich, A. (1940). A Contribution to the Psychoanalysis of Extreme Submissiveness in Women. In: Annie Reich: Psychoanalytic Contributions. pp. 85-98.
XI. The Superego and Narcissism cont
CLASS 11: May 8, 2024
REQUIRED READINGS
Sandler, J. (1960). On the Concept of the Superego. Psychoanal. Study Child 15:128-162.
XII. The Superego and Narcissism cont
CLASS 12: May 15, 2024
REQUIRED READINGS
Brenner, C. (1982). The Concept of the Superego: A Reformulation. Psychoanal. Q. 51:501-525.