Clinging, gripping, holding, containment

Reflections on a survival reflex and the development of a capacity to separate

Bibliographic Data

ID9056684
AuthorsAlessandra Cavalli (0000-0003-1676-9941, London, corresponding author)
Year2014
Volume59
Issue4
Pages548-565
Publication date2014-09-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Analytical Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-8774 • E-ISSN: 1465-5922
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/1468-5922.12101
PMID25155677
OpenAlexW2117837550
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited1

This paper attempts to describe how, in the very first months of extra‐uterine life, personality structures are formed around notions of personal space, separateness, attachment and individuation. The contribution of a forgotten Hungarian analyst, Imre Hermann, who wrote about the ‘clinging reflex’, will be explored in relation to the origin of Bowlby's concept of attachment and Rey's theoretical understanding of personal space. Particular attention will be given to transitions, transitional experiences and the development of a sense of internal space. Vignettes from infant observations will be used to illustrate the theoretical frame of reference. Clinical material from the analysis of a child and an adult patient will be provided to postulate how a distorted perception of personal space and separateness in the first few months of life may affect the capacity to attach and to individuate

Affect (linguistics) · Developmental psychology · Individuation · Perception · Personal space · Personality · Psychoanalysis · Relation (database) · Space (punctuation) · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics · Child Therapy and Development · Communication · Computer Science · Philosophy · Psychology · Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications · Social Psychology

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