ABSTRACT
In self-analysis, as in therapy, such experiences have the effect of separating the ego from the pathogenic residue, a therapeutic splitting. A therapist whose work is guided by the schema model would think the game situation not simply a matter of drive derivative opposed by a mechanism of defense but would understand that a life situation is being cognitively processed as though the patient were back in second grade, living with his parents and his despised kid brother. The interventions of such a therapist would be aimed at helping the patient separate the reenactment of childhood scenarios from the reality of practicing with or playing against fellow university students with whom he had no special relationships or animosity toward. For the therapist trying to put the underlying configuration together as he pays attention to the patient’s history, material, and derivatives of his conflicts, it is a matter of connecting the dots.
