The narcissistic scenarios of parenthood

The authors begin by pointing out that Freud always considered parent-child relations in ter-rns of the child's psychic development and took little ac count of the parents' experience of the relationship and its psychic effect s on them. They recall Freud's distinction between the anaclitic and narcis sistic modes of relationship and show how these are unconsciously embodied and enacted in varying proportions in the cases observed in their own clini cal practice of therapeutic consultations with parents and young children. After a review of the relevant psychoanalytic literature, the authors prese nt their concept of the narcissistic scenarios of parenthood, which include parental projection on to the child, parental counter-identification, a sp ecific aim and a relational dynamic that is acted out. Depending on the ind ividual situation, the effects may help to structure the developing psyche or, if the narcissistic element is excessive, they may be pathological The authors consider the literature an the application of psychoanalysis to the rapeutic interventions with parents and children, stressing the technical i mportance of establishing a therapeutic focus. These ideas are illustrated by a detailed case history showing the interaction between a mother and a 4 -year-old girl and how it was modified by a short therapy. The differences between interpretation in this situation and in the classical psychoanalyti c setting are explained, and the paper ends with some comments on the trans mission of psychic elements from generation to generation.