ABSTRACT
The process of introjection can be described in simple terms as swallowing whole messages from the environment and emerged from Perls’ interest in the development of dental aggression. When the infant cuts teeth choice increases as chewing over what enters the body becomes possible. However, the environment needs to be supportive of this increased ability to differentiate, if force-fed by carers this selection process can be inhibited and the infant may learn to take in whatever is offered without discrimination. Such a process is not limited to physical nourishment, the degree to which we ‘chew over’ information or messages we receive will reflect in how we are in the world.
