In Praise of Ambivalence

Bibliographic Data

ID20177634
AuthorsMarco Mazzetti (corresponding author)
Year2019
Volume49
Issue3
Pages181-194
Publication date2019-07-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueTransactional Analysis Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0362-1537 • E-ISSN: 2329-5244
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/03621537.2019.1602402
OpenAlexW2945578894
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited9

With the help of a clinical case, the author describes the phenomenological experience of ambivalence in the therapeutic setting and discusses its treatment in five steps: (1) recognize and legitimize the ambivalence; (2) differentiate between being uncertain and being confused; (3) accept the ambivalence, abstaining from resolving it immediately; (4) respectfully analyze the two poles of the ambivalence; and (5) recognize their fundamental unity because the two poles usually constitute the two faces of the same drive toward well-being. The case study shows how to deal not only with the patient’s ambivalence but with the therapist’s as well. The model of intervention described shows its usefulness for understanding both the transference and the countertransference dynamics of the therapeutic dyad. Necessary precautions are considered for successful completion of the analytic process, and the usefulness of empathic neutrality toward the two poles of ambivalence is described

Ambivalence · Countertransference · Dyad · Epistemology · Neutrality · Praise · Psychiatry · Psychoanalytic theory · Psychotherapist · Transference · Personality Disorders and Psychopathology · Psychology · Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications · Social Psychology · Transactional Analysis in Psychotherapy

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