ABSTRACT
In her 1999 paper, Jean Knox argues that there is a great deal of overlap between Bowlby's concept of internal working models and Jung's concept of the complex. This chapter suggests that the complex embodies both the trauma-related internal working model derived from the trauma as well as the primitive defensive reaction to the trauma. Whilst these primitive mammalian defence systems may form the cornerstones of the internal working model, the models are also more nuanced and particular to the individual's early relationships. It describes the way in which the relational patterns embodied in the complex manifest themselves on different levels and in direct and reversed forms. The chapter gives an example that illustrates the internal working models in practice. It looks at how these are reflected in, and structure, what the patient brings on the objective, subjective, transference, and archetypal levels, and in direct and reversed forms.
