Revitalizing Oedipus

Three steps are presented to revitalize the concept of the Oedipus complex and to apply this revitalized concept to clinical work. First, a comprehensive child developmental map is constructed of the road from the early infantile genital phase to the achievement of the full Oedipus stage, integratin...

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Published inPsychoanalytic social work Vol. 13; no. 2; pp. 31 - 51
Main Authors Klein, David B., Spindler, Evangeline J.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Taylor & Francis Group 01.01.2006
Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
Subjects
Child Development
Clinical Social Work
developmental map
infantile genital phase
Oedipal Complex
Oedipus complex
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Summary:Three steps are presented to revitalize the concept of the Oedipus complex and to apply this revitalized concept to clinical work. First, a comprehensive child developmental map is constructed of the road from the early infantile genital phase to the achievement of the full Oedipus stage, integrating the diverse components of self, gender, libido, aggression, ego, superego, object relationship and adaptation. Second, specific developmental lines (e.g., separation-individuation) are magnified in a given patient for close examination to explore the relationship to that patient's overall oedipal conflicts. Third, a reciprocal interaction is fostered between the evolving conceptual framework and the emerging clinical data. The paper contains two in-depth case examples to illustrate the clinical application of these ideas.
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ISSN:1522-8878
1522-9033
DOI:10.1300/J032v13n02_03