PubMed · 8410760
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W Smith. 1993. Another look at codependency.. https://doi.org/10.3928/0279-3695-19930801-03
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The discussion opens with an account of the author's mother's bizarre family in which a strong, charismatic grandmother maintained absolute control over her large family by encouraging a neurotic dependence in them through daily reports of their complaints. Getting interested in psychoanalysis in an effort to understand the dynamics of this dysfunctional family, the author, a biographer, turned to the study of Melanie Klein, becoming entranced by her ideas. Her research also revealed how Klein had discouraged her followers from developing ideas that diverged in any way from her own. Her portrait of the pioneer analyst provoked intense indignation. A similar pattern of absolute loyalty to his person and theories was to be found in Freud's Secret Committee, formed primarily as a means of getting rid of Jung who had been showing disturbing signs of independence. When Ferenczi and Rank began to pursue independent lines of enquiry in their work, they too were though to be undermining the foundations of classical psychoanalysis. Finally, the author concludes that though there have been sorry incidents in psychoanalysis, we should be mature enough to accept both the contributions of the early pioneers and the realizations that new ideas must be permitted to evolve.
For most people, the term boundary brings to mind an image of some physical barrier that keeps something in or out, such as a fence or a wall. These examples are physical, but boundaries also can be emotional or interpersonal. Just as physical boundaries keep some things in and others out, so do emotional ones. Emotional or interpersonal boundaries are the necessary space between people that allows a sense of individuality and separateness. This sense of uniqueness is essential for the development of a healthy person and ultimately the development of a professional identity.