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V. FURTHER AND CONTEMPORARY DEVELOPMENTS IN NORTH AMERICA
V. A. Integrative Models
Otto F. Kernberg Since the 1970’s, Otto F. Kernberg has been developing a version of Object Relations Theory within the Structural Theory/Ego Psychology. In his approach, ‘self-object-affect units’ (Kernberg, 1977) are the primary determinants of the overall structures of the mind (i.e.id, ego, superego). In Kernberg’s model (1982, 2004, 2012 2013, 2014, 2015), a ‘supraordinate’ self is a sum total of the partial and gradually more complete self- representations. His Psychoanalytic Object Relations Theory integrates the neuro-biological activation of affective systems, the differentiation of self from others, the development of a theory of mind and of empathy, the evolution of the self-structure, and the development of the processes of mentalization. In his paper “Self, Ego, Affects, and Drives” (Kernberg 1982), Kernberg clarifies his views on development and structure formation, suggesting a modification of dual drive theory. It is already here that he proposes to reserve the term ‘self’ for the sum total of self- representations in intimate connection with the sum total of objet representations. In defining the self as an intrapsychic structure that originates from the ego (‘Ich’/I) and is embedded in it, Kernberg remains close to Freud’s implicit insistence that self and ego (‘Ich’/I) are indissolubly linked. This model conceives of the self as invested with both libidinal and aggressive drive derivatives integrated in the context of their component self representations. Re-examining Freud’s use of ‘Trieb’ (drive) and ‘Instinkt’ (instinct), he concludes that “Freud preferred Trieb , best translated as “drive,” precisely because he conceived of drives as relatively continuous psychic motivational systems at the border between the physical and the mental, in contrast to instincts, which he viewed as discontinuous, rigid, inborn behavioral dispositions” (Kernberg 1982, p.909, original italics). Strachey’s Standard Edition, however, translates ‘Trieb’ (drive) consistently as instinct. Addressing the development of the earliest self and object representations, relevant to the development of the self, Kernberg integrates findings from contemporary neurobiology and studies of infant development with his revised formulation of the dual drive theory (in Freud’s original German) in the light of relation between affects and drives. Here, numerous affects are the primary motivational system, linking gradually differentiated and integrated self and object representations, with affects consolidating gradually into libidinal or aggressive drives. In this model, affects are seen as the building blocks or constituents of drives. Kernberg would continue, update and refine his integrative work throughout the next 30 years. Kernberg (2015) emphasizes the dynamic complexity of the earliest weeks and months of life. He asserts that already during the boundaryless ‘symbiotic phase’ (Mahler, Pine and
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