| The purpose of this study is to examine the role of erotic transference and the corresponding erotic countertransference found in the psychoanalytic relationship in the development of the self. The underlying assumption is that healthy development, sexual and otherwise, is dependent upon healthy nurturance by the Other. The primary hypothesis is that from an examination of the erotic transference and countertransference material in the psychotherapy relationship, insight can be gained about the development of the self, particularly concerning the achievement of a subjective self with the capacity for relational desire. Contributions on the subject of transference include, but are not limited to, the writings of Freud, Klein, Joseph, Racker and Davies. Theories of development from the object relations perspective from Klein, Winnicott and Stern are examined and combined with contributions by a number of relational theorists such as Davies, Benjamin, Maroda and Harris, focusing on the development of the subjectivity of the patient within the potential space created by the psychoanalyst and the patient. Case material of long-term psychoanalytic psychotherapy treatment from previously published works by Searles, Dimen and Davies are analyzed and discussed. Exploration of the creation of a potential space for the erotic to be explored in psychotherapy treatment, as a necessary component in the healthy development of the patient, will provide both psychoanalyst and patient with a model with which to think clearly with the potential for new insights. It is concluded that the role of erotic transference and countertransference in psychotherapy in the area of human development warrant further discussion and study. |
