Dissociation and the Self in the magical pre-Oedipal field

This paper explores the clinical relevance of Jung's idea of the Self in pr e-Oedipal and pre-individuation psychology. Incorporating data from neurobi ology and recent theories of memory and narrative reconstruction, a post-mo dern conception of the Self is proposed akin to what Jung called a 'dream o f totality'. Such a conception of the Self is distinguished from a reified structure or a deified image, and is considered to be that aspect of psycho logical functioning consonant with emerging meanings, and the birth of new psychological ground. Links are made back to Flournoy, William James, and d epth psychology's early interest in teleology, the occult, and the creative capacities of the psyche. Updating this mystery tradition, clinical material illustrates how narrativ es of the Self are present in such pre-Oedipal dynamics as dissociation and projective identification, These dynamics are understood not only as primi tive defences but as reconstitutive symbolic metaphors and mythopoetic expr essions of an emergent rather than a superordinate Self.