The Christopher Bollas Reader

by Christopher Bollas

B is alone in his room mulling over certain private internal issues. A arrives in a euphoric mood. What is the matter, A inquires of B. B tells A something of what is on his mind. A extracts the elements of B’s concerns and with great speed and intensity organizes B’s private concerns into a false coherence. The more A organizes B’s state of mind into ‘meaning’ the less B feels in contact with himself and, if A is a manic personality, B may gradually begin to feel dulled and inert, since he is left to carry the split-off deadness that typifies the other aspect of A’s personality. In this example, we can see how extractive introjection and projective identification may work together. As A extracts B’s sense of inner workings, he deposits in its place a split-off element of his own personality: a deadness.

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