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PubMed2000

The development and consequences of an aggressive symbiotic fantasy.

Chronic anxiety in a female patient was understood to have multiple meanings in relating to the mother through the fantasy of a symbiotic union. The origins of the fantasy are traced to the patient's poor relationship with a preoccupied and unavailable mother. The fantasy underwent several transformations under the influence of subsequent developmental phases and the special role of aggression in its elaboration. This paper illustrates the reciprocal interactions between separation-individuation and psychosexual development and their influence on the development of the self and gender identity, defenses against aggression, development of a sadomasochistic style, and transference-countertransference interactions. The symbiotic fantasy is seen as carrying the imprints of all developmental phases and as having multiple functions.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Fantasy and reality: an essay on incest.

The question of fantasy and reality in incest cases has been and continues to be a complex and much debated issue. From an historical perspective this issue was at its peak following Freud's introduction of the seduction theory. The renunciation of his theory and the silence that ensued for decades placed this debate on hold. Now that incest is again being acknowledged, clinicians are once again confronted with the issue of reality versus fantasy. This paper will demonstrate different ways the relationship between fantasy and reality in incestuous experiences may be expressed. The need to reexamine our positions and to bring the interplay of fantasy and reality back to the forefront will be addressed.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Sexual contacts: experiences, thoughts, and fantasies of adult male survivors of child sexual abuse.

This study examined the past sexual experiences, as well as the prevalence of sexual thoughts and fantasies concerning the sexual contacts of 35 adult men who were sexually abused during their childhoods. More specifically, their past sexual contacts, thoughts and fantasies of desired sexual contacts, and perceptions of sexual contacts were investigated. A group of 33 adult men with no history of sexual abuse was included for the purpose of comparison. A 72-item questionnaire was used to collect data. The results indicated that male childhood sexual abuse may contribute to the prevalence of sexual thoughts and fantasies about sexual contact with male children and adolescents. Despite the prevalence of sexual thoughts and fantasies about sexual contact with boys, the adult male survivors surveyed claimed not to be accepting of sex between adults and children.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

A clinical application of subliminal psychodynamic activation. On the stimulation of symbiotic fantasies as an adjunct in the treatment of hospitalized schizophrenics.

This study attempted to utilize the subliminal psychodynamic activation method as an aid in the treatment of hospitalized schizophrenics. More specifically, we inbestigated whether the subliminal activation of a fantasy of symbiotic gratification would produce an increment in the degree of improvement that schizophrenics manifested as a result of hospitalization. Forty male patients were seen individually for three weekly sessions over a 6-week period for a fantasy expression task carried out by a psychology graduate student. Both at the beginning and at the end of each session and whenever during the session anxiety was in evidence, the patient was exposed to subliminal stimulation. The patients were divided into two groups equated for intelligence, pathology level, and other pertinent variables. For one group, the tachistoscopically presented stimulus consisted of MOMMY AND I ARE ONE, a verbal message which, in several prior studies, produced a significant reduction in ego impairment within a laboratory session. The other group served as a control, and their stimulus was PEOPLE ARE WALKING. The subjects in each group were subdivided in order to investigate the effects of two other interventions in addition to the subliminal symbiotic stimulation. One of these was aggressive expression consisting of an attempt to elicit specifically aggressive fantasies in the fantasy expression task. The other was self-focuing, designed to strengthen self-boundaries. All patients were blindly assessed for seven measures of ego impairment before and after the intervention period and for the number of rehospitalizations over a 9-month follow-up period. Of the three types of interventions impairment measures. For on of the variables, the symbiotic group showed significantly more improvement than the control group, while for two others the results approached significance. In addition, on an overall measure of ego impairment, there was significantly mor improvement for the symbiotic group than for the control patients.

Aggression↗
PubMed2000

Dissociation, schizotypy, and fantasy proneness in undergraduate students.

Previous research has noted a robust correlation between dissociation and schizophrenia-like symptoms. One way to interpret the relationship between dissociation and schizotypy is to assume that it is an artifact of fantasy proneness. In the present study, 152 undergraduates completed measures of dissociation, schizotypy, and fantasy proneness. Dissociative tendencies were found to be related to the full range of schizotypal features. Regression analysis showed that schizotypy still contributed to the prediction of dissociative tendencies when variance related to fantasy proneness was extracted. These results indicate that the close connection between dissociation and schizotypy cannot be interpreted in terms of an artifact produced by fantasy proneness. Thus, the overlap between dissociation and schizotypy warrants systematic study.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Fantasies of the unborn among pregnant women.

PURPOSE: This investigation sought to describe how pregnant women fantasize about their unborn children. METHODS: A questionnaire using one open-ended question was given to 210 pregnant women in childbirth education classes. The final sample was 184. Content and matrix analyses were used to identify evidence of fantasy patterns in primiparas and multiparas, as well as patterns among the three gestational trimesters. RESULTS: Results indicate that fantasies have a developmental component across gestational trimesters and differ between multiparas and primigravidas. Ten major themes were derived. IMPLICATIONS: Routine assessments of prenatal fantasy might help to promote healthy behaviors in pregnant women and enhance positive interpersonal relationships between the provider and client. Future research is needed to discern the impact of antenatal fantasies on maternal role development.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Rebirth fantasy and the psychoanalytic process.

In this paper, Jungian and Freudian perspectives on the fantasy of rebirth are explored and a brief review of the literature on the theme is used to show how that the rebirth fantasy seems to be a universal fantasy in the human mind, connected with the experience of both destruction and creation. In the psychoanalytic process the rebirth fantasy is connected with initial hopes for a better life, but is also a vehicle for creating the analytic pair and for separating from the 'totalitarian object'. An account of clinical work with a patient is given to illustrate the mutual and parallel process of rebirth in both the patient and the therapist. For the patient, the therapy was experienced as an awakening or a birth. The therapist was initially doubtful about the patient's capacity to engage in the analytic process but his involvement and interest were 'born' during the early sessions, enabling the patient to rely on him to lead her out of the claustrophobic power of the totalitarian object.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

How fantasy benefits young children's understanding of pretense.

Sobel and Lillard (2001) demonstrated that 4-year-olds' understanding of the role that the mind plays in pretending improved when children were asked questions in a fantasy context. The present study investigated whether this fantasy effect was motivated by children recognizing that fantasy contains violations of real-world causal structure. In Experiment 1, 4-year-olds were shown a fantasy character engaged in ordinary actions or actions that violated causal knowledge. Children were more likely to say that a troll doll who was acting like but ignorant of the character was not pretending to be that character when read the violation story. Experiment 2 suggested that this difference was not caused by a greater interest in the violation story. Experiment 3 demonstrated a similar difference for characters engaged in social and functional violations that were possible in the real world. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that preschoolers use actions and appearance more than mental states to make judgments about pretense, but that those judgments can be influenced by the context in which the questions are presented.

Awareness↗
PubMed1994

Patterns of fantasy play engagement across the transition to becoming a sibling.

Patterns of spontaneous dyadic fantasy play among 30 3- to 5-year-old first-born children who were becoming siblings were evaluated at two pre- and three post-birth intervals for its length, thematic content and social quality. Children who interacted more positively with their sibling played longer, engaged in fantasy play that was thematically relevant to becoming a sibling and had more positive interactions with best friends than low-sibling acceptance children. High-sibling acceptance children also experienced a suppression in fantasy immediately following their sibling's birth; thus, a temporary disruption in fantasy play may indicate adaptive coping.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1983

Patients' fantasies about physical illness.

All patients with physical illness have an underlying fantasy concerning why they became sick. This fantasy can be elicited by the consulting psychiatrist and the treating physician. The meaning of the fantasy is consistent with the psychodynamic theory of human behavior. Also, once the fantasy is understood, it can be applied in the patient's therapy.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Dungeons and Dragons: the use of a fantasy game in the psychotherapeutic treatment of a young adult.

A schizoidal young man made a methodical attempt at suicide. He revealed a paucity of object attachments leading to profound isolation. His early upbring led him to extreme isolation of affect and a fear of fragmentation. His inner life was not safely reachable by conventional therapy. After he became involved in playing a fantasy game, Dungeons and Dragons, the therapy was modified to use the game material as displaced, waking fantasy. This fantasy was used as a safe guide to help the patient learn to acknowledge and express his inner self in a safe and guided way. The patient ultimately matured and developed healthier object relations and a better life. The theoretical underpinnings of this process are explored, both in dynamic terms and in terms of the biologic correlation and equivalence of dreams and waking fantasy. The utility of this game as a vehicle for treatment of selected individuals is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Fantasy in psychiatric patients: exploring a myth.

Through six interrelated studies the author examines the common conception that daydreams and fantasy are important factors in the onset and maintenance of severe psychopathology, particularly hallucinatory psychosis. Results of the studies failed to support the idea that psychotic patients have particularly frequent or vivid daydream activity, and indicate instead that psychotic patients tend to inhibit aspects of normal fantasy. Hallucinatory schizophrenics, in particular, were blocked in their emotional-interpersonal imagery. In a study of depressed patients, a negative fantasy style was found to be associated with clinical depression. Sleep disorder was similarly associated with a negative fantasy style.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Transformations of unconscious fantasy in art.

Unconscious fantasy is conceptualized as a representation for drive-related, conflict-laden, wish-fulfilling views of human experience. These are usually related to sexuality, and refer to birth, intrauterine existence, primal scene, castration, and seduction. Unconscious fantasy may be transformed into works of art through a variety of artistic means. The employment of formal means for the representation of fantasy may be the product of an endopsychic perception. Thus, structural attributes of the psyche may also find representation. An example is used from the creative process in the construction of a novel by Henry James, The Spoils of Poynton. In the process of fulfilling artistic purposes in the construction of his plot, the author made use of derivatives of unconscious fantasy which surface in the process of creation. The work of art is the integration of unconscious derivatives which become transformed into artistic structure.

Creativity↗
PubMed1990

Unconscious fantasy: a reconsideration of the concept.

Despite general agreement about the clinical importance of unconscious fantasy, the concept itself has remained unclear. After reviewing Freud's work on the subject, the conceptual dilemma is specified: where in current psychoanalytic theory do we place this important, dynamically repressed, structuralized mental content? Three conceptual paths have been followed in attempting to deal with this problem. The first emphasizes the structural, tripartite model, discarding topographic concepts. The second replaces the structural model with a schema model borrowed from academic psychology. The third combines the structural and topographic models. None of these approaches is entirely satisfactory and without problems. Because of their central role in mental life, unconscious fantasies deserve careful definition. They should be distinguished from conscious fantasies and daydreams as well as from the process of fantasizing. They are differentiated from other varieties of unconscious content by their enduring quality and their organized, storylike quality reflecting the distortions typical of the primary process. As dynamically unconscious templates from the childhood past, they shape subsequent compromise formations and are relatively impervious to new experience. The development of psychoanalytic theory from a macrostructural to a microstructural emphasis is discussed in relation to the unconscious fantasy concept.

Fantasy↗
PubMed2000

An exploration of child sexual abusers' sexual fantasies before and after treatment.

Although there is a substantial literature looking at the relationship between deviant sexual fantasies and child sexual abuse, there is scant previous work that focuses upon the actual content of such fantasies. The present study looks at child sexual abusers' deviant fantasies both pre- and postintervention. Using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, a description of the frequency and content of, and triggers for, child sexual abusers' deviant fantasies is reported both pre- and postintervention. The implications of this information for subsequent intervention programs is explored.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

Guided fantasy as a treatment for childhood insomnia.

A "guided fantasy" technique is described to relieve insomnia in children without the use of chemotherapy or the more conventional forms of hypnotherapy. In children at an age where fantasy is a spontaneous everyday response, relaxed sleep is induced through listening to a story from a tape that is created from the child's favourite fantasy figures and everyday likes and interests. The 'guided fantasy' is presented by the parents as a novel bedtime story rather than as a therapy procedure by the therapist. The child is allowed to feel he has a controlling influence in putting a favourite figure to sleep within the story, and so is gently led to accept sleep himself by choice. No active therapist is involved so there are no dangers of expected transference or abreaction.

Autogenic Training↗
PubMed2005

The material culture of suicidal fantasies.

In this study, the author examined the content of impulsive suicidal fantasies among U.S. undergraduates. Of 546 participants, 45.6% reported incidents in which they fantasized about killing themselves. Most fantasies (95%) included explicit references to suicide methods, and most of those fantasies (98%) involved human-made tools or materials (e.g., drugs, cutlery, firearms). The methods reported in most suicidal fantasies seem to have been suggested by the mass media. The findings suggest that suicidal thoughts do not occur without explicit and detailed information about suicide methods involving material culture.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

On the secret fantasy of being an exception.

Some analysands have great difficulty in facing the fact that they are in analysis, instead clinging grimly to the conviction that they are doing something else. This 'something else' points to the secret fantasy of being an exception, someone who is exceptionally well-loved and occupies an exceptional position with the analyst. On the basis of the secret fantasy of an analysand, the author describes the various possible intrapsychic functions of such a fantasy and attempts to explain why this fantasy has to be defended with such desperate tenacity.

Adult↗