"The counterpart to the projective process of splitting off a part of the self and putting it into the object,
introjective identification refers to the taking in of aspects or qualities possessed by and perceived in the object, in such a way that the self can identify with that aspect without a sense of taking over the object or becoming it.
The second uses Judith Butler's account of Freud's definitions of melancholia and mourning to explore the sonnets' transition from anxiety at separation from her lover to assertion of an alleged identity with him, followed by "strange and hostile" responses to her abandonment, and "
introjective" acceptance of her loss.
Hipkins expands this notion by adding a new one: the "
introjective anxiety: the fear of the Other finding its way into the self via the text" (81); both, the authorial and the
introjective anxiety, are identified as categories of the "inter-textual anxiety" (125).
Defence mechanisms on the level of the Borderline personality organisation are: splitting, primitive idealisation, projection, projective identification /
introjective identification, omnipotent control, devaluation; psychotic defence mechanisms: devitalisation-vitalisation, fragmentation, denial, disavowal.
In stage two--The Dynamics of the Relationship, the authors examine intersubjectivity in relational psychotherapy with specific focus on the transferential relationship about which they propose three categories of phenomena: projective,
introjective, and transformational transferences.
The differential effect of psychotherapy and psychoanalysis on anaclitic and
introjective patients: the Menninger Psychotherapy Research Project revisited.
Interviewees made comments that the researchers labeled as
introjective remarks.
Interestingly, the same characteristics have been described in individuals with
introjective personalities, who defensively exaggerate the human need for autonomy and achievement at the expense of the equally important need for intimate relating (Blatt & Blass, 1996); yet, such individuals have been thought to adopt attachment strategies of avoidance.
While the term "object" in Tomkins's use and in Klein's is not identical, Tomkins appears to be addressing what Kleinian theory describes in terms of projective and
introjective identification: the to-and-fro movement of psychic objects from within the boundaries of the ego to without and vice versa.
Categorizing depression into anaclitic depression, which comes from feelings of loneliness, and
introjective depression, from feelings of failure and worthlessness, Experienced Of Depression goes on to explore a widening range of assessment and treatment tools and methods to help those in greatest need.
