ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors present narratives of the successful analysis of two patients who experienced deeply painful struggles with an identity formed in childhood that was incongruent with their sense of themselves as adults. They use the clinical stories of the treatment of Eileen and Samantha to illustrate our experience-based revision or restatement of analytic theory. From the beginning of life, values and goals are drawn from the social and ethical context of the individual’s daily life. Values emerge from interacting and intersubjective experiences with others. Consequently, the analytic treatment comprises multiple facets; most well-known from the brilliance of Freud is understanding and insight into the nature of influences that have resulted in adaptive and maladaptive trends in identity, expectations, and intentions in each motivational system. Successful exploratory therapies contribute to modification of the underlying affect tone through interpretation, insight, and empathy, and especially from changes in the ambiance between patient and therapist.
