The Fantasy Bond: Effects of Psychological Defenses on Interpersonal Relations
, by Firestone, Robert W.
- ISBN: 9780967668406 | 0967668409
- Cover: Paperback
- Copyright: 12/1/1987
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.
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 |
| Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved. |
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