A matter of context: Who says there can't be friendly ghosts?
✍ Scribed by Martin J. Drell
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2005
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 50 KB
- Volume
- 26
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0163-9641
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
It is very fitting that on the 30th anniversary of Fraiberg, Adelson, and Shapiro's (1975) classic article, "Ghosts in the Nursery: A Psychoanalytic Approach to the Problems of Impaired Infant -Mother Relationships," Lieberman, Padro ´n, Van Horn, and Harris (2005) wrote this thought-provoking companion article that both complements and extends the concepts of the original article. It does so by urging therapists to pay attention to not only the "ghosts in the nursery" -those experience-based and unremembered problematic memories from the past that haunt mother -infant relationships and condemn them to a repetition of the tragedies of the past -but also to "angels in the nursery" -those experience-based and unremembered positive memories that can protect the mother -infant relationship and foster healthy development.
Lieberman et al. 's (2005) article begins with a quote by Harris ( 2004) concerning a grandfather who notes that these "angels" are "seldom noticed or talked about." This quote is elaborated on by noting that psychoanalytically influenced therapists may likewise not notice or therapeutically deal with "early experiences of safety, intimacy, joy and other pleasurable experiences" (p. 506 -507). The authors feel that dealing with "angels" will prove a helpful counterbalance to the field's tendency to "either focus primarily on current parent -child interactions or to explore the parent's early experiences of pain, conflict, and alienation from caregivers" (p. 507).
While unexpected, my first reaction to this article was: "Is this really that much of a revelation?" I was uncomfortable with this response especially because of my deep respect for the work of Alicia Lieberman and her colleagues. I wondered what "ghosts" could be leading me to this conclusion. After much thought, I realized that my response was due to a difference in context and therefore a difference in how I approach cases. Their angels article is written within the context of psychoanalytic theory and practice whereas my own context is now an admixture of psychoanalytic, cognitive-behavioral and family systems theory and practice. As I tell my trainees: "We are all victims of our training and our theories.