Triangulation (psychoanalysis)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In psychoanalysis, triangulation describes the addition of a third person to a two-way relationship. The term was coined by Ernst Abelin to describe the transition from the early mother-child relationship researched in psychoanalytic object relationship theory to the Oedipus conflict , which Sigmund Freud started with.

In Abelin's sense, the term is used in the therapy directions psychoanalysis , depth psychology and developmental psychology .

In systemic family therapy , triangulation is differently referred to as dysfunctional relationship (s) among three, see triangulation (family therapy) .

Triangulation in Psychoanalysis

The "early triangulation" according to Abelin

In 1971 Ernst Abelin presented the concept of “early triangulation”, which starts with the mother as the first and most meaningful caregiver. According to Abelin, the father is "longed for" by the toddler in order to allow him to show and open up the world outside the maternal realm. If the relationship with the mother is too close or too disappointing, the father is given the position of “third party” who enables a distance without having to leave the mother for good.

With the help of the father, the child can in the best case learn that detachment from the mother is not disloyal, does not mean falling into nothing, and that aggressive feelings towards the mother are allowed. So the third (the father) helps the child to get over the imperfection of the dyadic partner (the mother). In this way it can let the opposing feelings of love and aggression persist and learn to endure at the same time.

The early triangulation at 18 months is the most important of five developmental steps in this psychoanalytic object relationship theory, through which the child also gains new intellectual and social skills. Abelin developed the organizer and triangulation model from this, which understands the entire human mental and psychological development as being made up of several triangulation levels.

In technical terms, the “early triangulation” according to Abelin takes place in the separation-individuation process of childhood and describes the process of expanding the dyad to a triadic social relationship. By being available to the child as a triangulating third party, the father helps him to resolve the symbiotic conflict with the mother and prepares the way for detachment and individuation . Hans W. Loewald and Margaret Mahler describe similar, roughly simultaneous perspectives , who also emphasize the importance of the preoedipal father as a triangulating third party.

With later authors ( Ermann , Rotmann, Rohde-Dachser , Lacan , J. Chasseguet-Smirgel , A. Green ), but also implicitly with Melanie Klein , the concept of early triangulation is expanded. They assume that the ability to triangulate are innate and begin at birth. The “exclusive symbiosis and dyad” between mother and child is not seen here as a normal stage of development, but as a pathological problem. That would contradict the traditional concepts of role relationships and father image.

According to new conceptualizations (D. Bürgin, M. Rotmann, K. v. Klitzing), which emerge as the result of observational studies, the father is seen as equal to the mother and the triad as an archetype of human relationship patterns.

On the role of the father in classical psychoanalysis

According to classical psychoanalysis, the father gains importance for the small child by helping him to detach himself from the mother and to cope with the Oedipus conflict . In the oedipal phase, the son desires the mother and therefore rivals the father. However, since he cannot win the mother, he resolves this conflict by gradually identifying and reconciling himself with the father. Thus, in the context of classical psychoanalysis, triangulation by the father can be viewed as a necessary, external circumstance that is necessary for child development. In the best case scenario, this development can be achieved in the first few years of life and affects the internalization of three “whole” object relationships. “Whole” is understood here as: including all also opposing parts of a respective object (“good” and “bad” etc.). These three objects / object relationships concern the child's relationships 1) with the mother, 2) with the father and 3) the relationship between the parents.

The psychoanalytic object relationship theory sees the triadic relationships as effective and not just the dyadic ones even in early childhood. Melanie Klein , an early object relationship theorist, represented z. B. that the Oedipus complex already exists in very early childhood (until then regarded as “preoedipal”).

Unsuccessful triangulation

In the understanding of psychoanalysis, unsuccessful triangulation is the basis when in some form the detachment from the parents (development of autonomy) of a person has not been completed. If this person had had the opportunity as a child to obtain a "second opinion" by means of a triangulating third party, they would have been able to form their own, independent opinion on a given problem.

Direct and reverse triangulation

The psychoanalyst Otto F. Kernberg sees what he calls "direct triangulation" as a prerequisite for a normal love relationship. Direct triangulation means the unconscious phantasy of both partners about an excluded third party, a rival of their own gender who embodies the parental competitor from the oedipal phase. In this sense, the sexual act in the love relationship re-enacts the transgression of the oedipal prohibition and triumph over the oedipal rival.

A “reverse triangulation”, on the other hand, occurs when one of the partners really gets involved with someone other than the partner in order to create a situation in which he is desired by two people at the same time. The fantasy of reverse triangulation grows out of vengeful or compensatory motives and unconsciously takes revenge on the corresponding parent.

See also

literature

Web links

swell

  1. ↑ Friedrich Roller and Jörg-Michael Voigtländer, website of the University of Ulm ( Memento of the original from January 19, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / sip.medizin.uni-ulm.de
  2. ^ Ernst Abelin: The Role of the Father in the Separation-Individuation Process. In: JB McDevitt, CF Settlage (Ed.): Separation-Individuation. International Universities Press, New York 1971, pp. 229-252
  3. ↑ Ernst Abelin: Some further observations and comments on the earliest role of the father. In: The International Journal of Psychoanalysis. Volume 56, 1975. pp. 293-302
  4. ↑ Organizer and triangulation model
  5. ^ Ernst Abelin (1980): Triangulation, the Role of the Father and the Origins of Core Gender Identity during the Rapprochement Subphase. In: Rapprochement , ed. R. Lax, S. Bach and J. Burland. New York: Jason Aronson, pp. 151-169.
  6. ↑ Ernst Abelin (1986): The theory of early childhood triangulation. From psychology to psychoanalysis. In: The father image in continuity and change . ed. J. Stork. Stuttgart: Frommann-Holzboog, pp. 45-72
  7. ↑ Jürgen Heinz: Fathers in accompanying psychotherapy . In: Analytical child and adolescent psychotherapy. 2/2001, pp. 245-272
  8. ↑ Otto F. Kernberg : love relationships. Normality and pathology. Stuttgart 1998, p. 54, p. 133ff.