The distinction between needs and wishes: Implications for psychoanalytic theory and technique

After a comprehensive survey of the literature is presented and some caveat s entered, this paper delineates the concept of a psychological "need," not ing that it bears a complex relation to the concept of a "wish," Need is un iversal, wish experience-bound. A need, unlike a wish, is not subject to re pression. In addition, although a wish can be replaced by another wish, a n eed cannot be replaced by another need. Whereas the frustration of a wish c auses dynamic shifts, the frustration of a need leads to structural disinte gration. Needs and wishes can be in harmony or in opposition. The paper als o identifies six basic psychological needs, which would seem to be ubiquito us, though the degree to which they are overt and the ways in which they ar e met vary across cultures. Their gratification seems necessary for healthy psychic development to occur, for relationships to survive, and for psycho analytic work to take hold and to continue optimally. These needs are (I)th e need for one's physical needs to be deemed legitimate; (2) the need for i dentity, recognition, and affirmation; (3) the need for interpersonal and i ntrapsychic boundaries; (4) the need for understanding the causes of events ; (5) the need for optimal emotional availability of a love object; and (6) the need for a resilient responsiveness by one's love objects under specia l circumstances. Ordinarily these needs are met during the course of treatm ent with no deliberate effort by the analyst. In the treatment of some pati ents, however, they require more direct attention. A number of clinical vig nettes are presented to elucidate these ideas.