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motive is that of amae and that ultimately, in time, this becomes the kernel of the transference. Yet clinicians need to be aware of the hierarchical nature of transference inherent especially in the Japanese clinical situation (or, for that matter, in any psychoanalytic setting), and be sensitive and in tune with non-verbal or indirect communication of both ‘positive’ as well as ‘negative’ amae, if these are conceptualized as primary needs, instinctual strivings, defense processes, or a complex developmental-dynamic configuration of all the above. Similarly, Japanese patients’ group orientation cannot simply be understood as a lack of boundaries or individuation, as it might appear simplistically in Western culture. Though we owe the discovery of the concept of amae to the specific Japanese context, it can be discerned in varying degrees across cultures. Within a group psychological context, it relates in complex ways to a separate individual’s need to live in, and belong to a given group setting. Developmentally and clinically, while the echoes of early maternal refueling, containing, and holding can be discerned in it, the internal interactive dynamic of amae extends over the entire life span of the individual (Doi, 1989; Freeman, 1998). Doi’s seminal contribution on amae needs to be appreciated as a regionally specific developmental and clinical Japanese concept with a global reach, enriching theoretical fluency and clinical sensibility across the borders of geography, psychoanalytic culture, and individual conditions.
REFERENCES
Akhtar, S and Kramer, S (1998). The Colors of Childhood: Separation Individuation across Cultural, Ratial and Ethnic Differences. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson. Akhtar, S, ed. (2009). Comprehensive Dictionary of Psychoanalysis. London: Karnak. Balint, M (1935/1965). Critical notes on the theory of pregenital organizations of the libido. In, Primary Love and Psycho-Analytic Technique . New York: Liveright Publishing. Balint, M (1936). The Final Goal of Psycho-Analytic Treatment. Int. J. Psycho-Anal., 17:206- 216. Balint, M (1968). The Basic Fault: The Therapeutic Aspects of Regression. London, New York: Tavistock Publications. Benedict, R (1946). The Chrysanthemum and the Sword . Cambridge, Mass: The Riverside Press. Bethelard, F and Young-Bruehl, E (1998). Cherishment Culture. American Imago. 55: 521- 542.
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