Zelda G Knight
Biographic Data
| ID | 4141468 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Zelda G Knight |
| GIVEN NAMES | Zelda G |
| FAMILY NAME | Knight |
| SIGNATURE | KNIGHT Z G |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Johannesburg |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3919-8785 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 16 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 2 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 16 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1992 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Why Do I Write: A psychobiographical study of Bessie Amelia Emery Head
This psychobiographical study on Bessie Head, a bi-racial writer from the South African apartheid period, explored early experiences that defined her identity, personality development and prominence in post-colonial African literature. For the case conceptual framing, we integrate Donald W. Winnicott’s object relations theory with intersectional feminism to explore her identity by the complex interactions between her psychological experiences and…
Integration of psychobiography into professional training in clinical and counselling psychology: Strategies and prospects
Narcissistic female serial killers: A psychobiographical study of Cecilia Johanna Steyn
The researcher’s transference in psychoanalytically informed qualitative research
This article sets out to explore the researcher’s transference in psychoanalytically informed qualitative research. To this end, it is suggested the researcher’s transference is a) rooted in the past/childhood experiences and events and b) occurs in all research activities, such as interviews. The researcher’s transference may have some elements of unresolved or unsymbolized psychological issues that are transferred to the research process. Such …
If I leave home, who will take care of mum?’ Intergenerational transmission of parental trauma through projective identification
Using the construct of projective identification and integrating it with the body of literature on intergenerational transmission of unsymbolized parental trauma, I describe the case of an adult daughter that illustrates intergenerational transmission of unsymbolized parental trauma. It is suggested that the daughter has unconsciously identified with the disavowed feelings of anxiety projected into her by her mother. The daughter’s projective ide…
The self in prejudice
The self as a psychological construct, and the self in relation to the other has been discussed in psychological and sociological literature for decades, but not much attention has been given to the psychological development of the self in relation to the social construction of prejudice. The primary aim of this article is to explore the self in prejudice and thus the psychological processes involved in the development of self within the social c…
On: Reply to Solms
Dear Editors,Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the letter by Mark Solms. It is good to know that there is training in South Africa, although it seems for the very few. I did not know abou
Black client, white therapist: Working with race in psychoanalytic psychotherapy in South Africa
In post-apartheid South Africa we speak about race extensively. It permeates our workplace, weaves a thread through the fabric of our professional and personal lives, as well as our private conversations and public interactions with others. From within psychoanalytic theory, the thread weaves through the unknown content of our racialized unconscious. When there is a focus on race in the South African psychoanalytic context it largely takes the fo…
Relational Psychoanalysis Potential Usefulness with Black South African Clients
The aim of this article is to suggest that relational psychoanalysis may be a useful approach for working with clients from indigenous African cultures. In particular, the article considers the utility of relational psychoanalysis to understanding and enacting the therapeutic relationship with clients from an indigenous African cultural background. The notion of “we” self from the perspective of African cultures is a case in point for possible co…
The Problems of Intentional Therapist Self-Disclosure in Psychoanalytic Therapy: A Critical Response to Gavin Ivey
Gavin Ivey's critique would have benefited from an in-depth appreciation of analytical literature that positions psychoanalysis today as fundamentally and substantially different to the world in which psychoanalysis first emerged. Such changes are described as an 'evolution' within postmodern psychoanalysis, something that I prefaced in my paper. To bemoan that what I defend (self-disclosure in analysis) is somehow the dilution of psychoanalysis …
Conceptual Considerations regarding Self-Disclosure: A Relational Psychoanalytic Perspective
Postmodernism opens up a new way of thinking about how life is understood and how knowledge is structured, and as such, it demands that one must accept that there have been major shifts in psychoanalytic thinking since Freud's time. The relational psychoanalytic perspective understands and structures knowledge differently from traditional psychoanalysis, as described by Freud, and it is not possible to reconcile these two paradigms. Consequently,…
Intersubjectivity and the Schizophrenic Experience: A Hermeneutic Phenomenoiogicai Exploration
The motivation for this article grew out of work done by Lysaker, Johannesen, and Lysaker (2005), which explores the experience of being as a person with schizophrenia in relation to other individuals, and shows schizophrenic intersubjectivity as a potentially horrifying and disintegrating experience. The article, through a phenomenologically informed case study, aims to narrate the subtleties of the intersubjective experience, as disclosed in th…
Some Thoughts on the Psychological Roots of the Behavior of Serial Killers as Narcissists: An Object Relations Perspective
This article documents the definition and context of serial murder. The main theoretical framework adopted is object relations theories which have been particularly renowned for drawing close attention to the process and development of the early dyadic mother-infant relationship as a primary departure point for understanding both healthy and pathological psychic development. These theories have been especially comprehensive in depicting the inner…
Patients' Coaching Behaviours, Transference Testing and the Corrective Emotional Experience: Transcending the Self in Psychotherapy
This article is broadly based within a psychodynamic approach to psychotherapy, drawing on object relations theories and, more specifically, on an object relations model outlined by Frank Summers, namely, relational psychoanalysis. The article explores the notion that because attachment to the object is central to the development of a sense of identity and belonging, individuals will seek to preserve the relationship at the expense of the develop…
The Healing Power of the Unconscious: How Can We Understand past Life Experiences in Psychotherapy
The psychological literature reflects that psychologists, psychiatrists and psychotherapists working seriously and systematically with so-called ‘past-life’ experiences in psychotherapy appears to be on the increase, also in South Africa. In recent years the subject of ‘past-life’ experiences has become a major focus in several modes of therapy, and both local and overseas therapists now regard it as having a vital and dynamic role to play in the…
Meditation — An Adjunct to School Guidance
One of the major aims of school guidance and counselling programmes is to promote personal growth. A practice which is enjoying continuing attention and is claimed as being a valuable tool for personal growth, is meditation. Could meditation be used profitably in the school situation? This case study reports on the experiences of a high school girl who participated in a three-month Vipassana meditation programme, and documents the personal growth…
The researcher’s transference in psychoanalytically informed qualitative research
This article sets out to explore the researcher’s transference in psychoanalytically informed qualitative research. To this end, it is suggested the researcher’s transference is a) rooted in the past/childhood experiences and events and b) occurs in all research activities, such as interviews. The researcher’s transference may have some elements of unresolved or unsymbolized psychological issues that are transferred to the research process. Such …
Black client, white therapist: Working with race in psychoanalytic psychotherapy in South Africa
In post-apartheid South Africa we speak about race extensively. It permeates our workplace, weaves a thread through the fabric of our professional and personal lives, as well as our private conversations and public interactions with others. From within psychoanalytic theory, the thread weaves through the unknown content of our racialized unconscious. When there is a focus on race in the South African psychoanalytic context it largely takes the fo…
Meditation — An Adjunct to School Guidance
One of the major aims of school guidance and counselling programmes is to promote personal growth. A practice which is enjoying continuing attention and is claimed as being a valuable tool for personal growth, is meditation. Could meditation be used profitably in the school situation? This case study reports on the experiences of a high school girl who participated in a three-month Vipassana meditation programme, and documents the personal growth…
The Healing Power of the Unconscious: How Can We Understand past Life Experiences in Psychotherapy
The psychological literature reflects that psychologists, psychiatrists and psychotherapists working seriously and systematically with so-called ‘past-life’ experiences in psychotherapy appears to be on the increase, also in South Africa. In recent years the subject of ‘past-life’ experiences has become a major focus in several modes of therapy, and both local and overseas therapists now regard it as having a vital and dynamic role to play in the…
Patients' Coaching Behaviours, Transference Testing and the Corrective Emotional Experience: Transcending the Self in Psychotherapy
This article is broadly based within a psychodynamic approach to psychotherapy, drawing on object relations theories and, more specifically, on an object relations model outlined by Frank Summers, namely, relational psychoanalysis. The article explores the notion that because attachment to the object is central to the development of a sense of identity and belonging, individuals will seek to preserve the relationship at the expense of the develop…
Some Thoughts on the Psychological Roots of the Behavior of Serial Killers as Narcissists: An Object Relations Perspective
This article documents the definition and context of serial murder. The main theoretical framework adopted is object relations theories which have been particularly renowned for drawing close attention to the process and development of the early dyadic mother-infant relationship as a primary departure point for understanding both healthy and pathological psychic development. These theories have been especially comprehensive in depicting the inner…
Intersubjectivity and the Schizophrenic Experience: A Hermeneutic Phenomenoiogicai Exploration
The motivation for this article grew out of work done by Lysaker, Johannesen, and Lysaker (2005), which explores the experience of being as a person with schizophrenia in relation to other individuals, and shows schizophrenic intersubjectivity as a potentially horrifying and disintegrating experience. The article, through a phenomenologically informed case study, aims to narrate the subtleties of the intersubjective experience, as disclosed in th…
Relational Psychoanalysis Potential Usefulness with Black South African Clients
The aim of this article is to suggest that relational psychoanalysis may be a useful approach for working with clients from indigenous African cultures. In particular, the article considers the utility of relational psychoanalysis to understanding and enacting the therapeutic relationship with clients from an indigenous African cultural background. The notion of “we” self from the perspective of African cultures is a case in point for possible co…
The Problems of Intentional Therapist Self-Disclosure in Psychoanalytic Therapy: A Critical Response to Gavin Ivey
Gavin Ivey's critique would have benefited from an in-depth appreciation of analytical literature that positions psychoanalysis today as fundamentally and substantially different to the world in which psychoanalysis first emerged. Such changes are described as an 'evolution' within postmodern psychoanalysis, something that I prefaced in my paper. To bemoan that what I defend (self-disclosure in analysis) is somehow the dilution of psychoanalysis …
Conceptual Considerations regarding Self-Disclosure: A Relational Psychoanalytic Perspective
Postmodernism opens up a new way of thinking about how life is understood and how knowledge is structured, and as such, it demands that one must accept that there have been major shifts in psychoanalytic thinking since Freud's time. The relational psychoanalytic perspective understands and structures knowledge differently from traditional psychoanalysis, as described by Freud, and it is not possible to reconcile these two paradigms. Consequently,…
Black client, white therapist: Working with race in psychoanalytic psychotherapy in South Africa
In post-apartheid South Africa we speak about race extensively. It permeates our workplace, weaves a thread through the fabric of our professional and personal lives, as well as our private conversations and public interactions with others. From within psychoanalytic theory, the thread weaves through the unknown content of our racialized unconscious. When there is a focus on race in the South African psychoanalytic context it largely takes the fo…
On: Reply to Solms
Dear Editors,Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the letter by Mark Solms. It is good to know that there is training in South Africa, although it seems for the very few. I did not know abou
The self in prejudice
The self as a psychological construct, and the self in relation to the other has been discussed in psychological and sociological literature for decades, but not much attention has been given to the psychological development of the self in relation to the social construction of prejudice. The primary aim of this article is to explore the self in prejudice and thus the psychological processes involved in the development of self within the social c…
If I leave home, who will take care of mum?’ Intergenerational transmission of parental trauma through projective identification
Using the construct of projective identification and integrating it with the body of literature on intergenerational transmission of unsymbolized parental trauma, I describe the case of an adult daughter that illustrates intergenerational transmission of unsymbolized parental trauma. It is suggested that the daughter has unconsciously identified with the disavowed feelings of anxiety projected into her by her mother. The daughter’s projective ide…
The researcher’s transference in psychoanalytically informed qualitative research
This article sets out to explore the researcher’s transference in psychoanalytically informed qualitative research. To this end, it is suggested the researcher’s transference is a) rooted in the past/childhood experiences and events and b) occurs in all research activities, such as interviews. The researcher’s transference may have some elements of unresolved or unsymbolized psychological issues that are transferred to the research process. Such …
Integration of psychobiography into professional training in clinical and counselling psychology: Strategies and prospects
Narcissistic female serial killers: A psychobiographical study of Cecilia Johanna Steyn
Why Do I Write: A psychobiographical study of Bessie Amelia Emery Head
This psychobiographical study on Bessie Head, a bi-racial writer from the South African apartheid period, explored early experiences that defined her identity, personality development and prominence in post-colonial African literature. For the case conceptual framing, we integrate Donald W. Winnicott’s object relations theory with intersectional feminism to explore her identity by the complex interactions between her psychological experiences and…
Psychology (16 works) · Psychoanalysis (11 works) · Psychoanalytic theory (7 works) · Psychotherapist (7 works) · Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications (7 works) · Social Psychology (7 works) · Counseling, Therapy, and Family Dynamics (5 works) · Sociology (5 works) · Transactional Analysis in Psychotherapy (5 works) · Developmental psychology (4 works)