Posted by pegasus on June 21, 2005, at 9:01:14
In reply to Ch 5 - Transference, Not Just for Therapy Anymore, posted by Dinah on June 19, 2005, at 21:15:19
> You only need to look at the Admin board to see how different people see Dr. Bob. He gives us such limited information about himself, and different people build different visions of who he is based on that limited information, and doubtless also based on past experiences with people in authority, or people with similar styles, or who knows what other of the limited characteristics he objectively displays.Yes, exactly. It's fascinating. I've always been amazed at the people to conclude that Dr. Bob is a malevolent or at least neglectful person. The way I see him is so caring. But who knows what he really thinks of everything. The truth is that he doesn't say much, and what he does say is usually about operation of the site. So we're putting our own interpretations on him.
I also completely agree about the nature of transference often being due to the similarity of the therapeutic relationship to other types of relationships. I always thought that any erotic feelings must be due to the intimate nature of the conversations, which I've only had in romantic relationships before. Because, frankly, my ex-T was never my type, romantically speaking. We're all pattern seeking animals, us humans, so when we recognize part of the romantic pattern, I think we tend to lump in all of the other parts, too.
Same for the parental transference, although I think it can be more instinctual than conscious. Mammals have instincts, or brain wiring, or whatever you want to call it, that encourage us to attach to safe others in a child-parent way. Come to think of it, maybe the same is true for romantic relationships. In other words, maybe it's more than pattern seeking. Maybe it's also physiological.
I don't buy the whole oedipal business at all. It just does not make sense to me. And it seems as though it is based on Freud's ideas, more than on any real evidence. It just seems like such a complicated scenario to believe on the basis of one brilliant guy's notion.
pegasus
poster:pegasus
thread:491935
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20050615/msgs/516540.html