The Inner World Outside: Object Relations Theory and Psychodrama

223 Pages·2015·3.246 MB·English

by  Paul Holmes

The Inner World Outside
First published in 1993, The Inner World Outside has become a classic in its field.
Paul Holmes walks the reader through the ‘inner world’ of object relat ion ships
and the corres pond ing ‘outside world’ shared by others in which real relat ion ships
exist. Trained as a psycho ther ap ist in both psycho ana lyt ical and psycho dra matic
methods, Paul Holmes has written a well-i nformed, clear intro duc tion to Object
Relations Theory and its relat ion to psychod rama. He explores the links between
the theor ies of J.L. Moreno, the founder of psycho drama, and Sigmund Freud,
the founder of psycho ana lysis, and presents a stimu lat ing synthesis. Each chapter
opens with an account of part of a psychod rama session which focuses on partic-
u lar aspects of psycho drama or Object Rela tions Theory. These accounts
illuminate the concepts or tech niques using the clin ical materi al from the group to
illus trate basic psychoa na lytic concepts in action.
Published here with a new intro duc tion from the author that links the book’s
content to concepts of Attach ment Theory, the book weaves together the very
differ ent concepts in an inspir ing and compre hens ive way that will ensure the
book continu es to be used by mental health and arts ther apies profess ion als,
whether in traini ng or prac tice.
Paul Holmes is a Fellow of the American Society for Group Psychotherapy and
Psychodrama and a recipi ent of their David A. Kipper’s Scholar’s Award. He was
a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, adult psycho ther ap ist and the first
Chair of the British Psychodrama Association. He worked in community child
and adoles cent mental health teams for many years with a special ist interest in the
services for fostered and adopted chil dren. He has a long- stand ing interest in
integ rat ing the theor ies and clin ical prac tices of differ ent schools of psycho-
ther apy, with a more recent focus on the applica tions of Attachm ent Theory.
Routledge Mental Health Classic Edition
The Routledge Mental Health Classic Edition series celeb rates Routledge’s
commitm ent to excel lence within the field of mental health. These books are
recog nized as timel ess class ics coveri ng a range of import ant issues, and continue
to be recom men ded as key reading for profes sion als and students in the area. With
a new intro duc tion that explores what has changed since the books were first
published, and why these books are as relev ant now as ever, the series presents
key ideas to a new genera tion.
A Special Scar: The exper i ences of people bereaved by suicide
(Classic Edition)
By Alison Wertheimer
An Introduction to the Therapeutic Frame (Classic Edition)
By Anne Gray
On Learning from the Patient (Classic Edition)
By Patrick Casement
Further Learning from the Patient (Classic Edition)
By Patrick Casement
On Becoming a Psychotherapist (Classic Edition)
Edited by Windy Dryden and Laurence Spurling
The Psychoanalysis of Organizations: A psycho ana lytic
approach to beha viour in groups and organ iz a tions (Classic
Edition)
By Robert De Board
Jung and Phenomenology (Classic Edition)
By Roger Brooke
The Anti-Group: Destructive forces in the group and their
creat ive poten tial (Classic Edition)
By Morris Nitsun
The Inner World Outside: Object Relations Theory and
Psychodrama (Classic Edition)
By Paul Holmes
Archetype Revisited: An updated natural history of the self
(Classic Edition)
By Anthony Stevens
The Political Psyche (Classic Edition)
By Andrew Samuels
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The Inner World Outside
Object rela tions theory and
psycho drama
Classic Edition
Paul Holmes
Classic edition published 2015
by Routledge
27 Church Road, Hove, East Sussex, BN3 2FA
And by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa
busi ness
© 2015 Paul Holmes
The right of Paul Holmes to be iden ti fied as author of this work
has been asser ted by him in accord ance with sections 77 and 78
of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprin ted or
repro duced or util ised in any form or by any elec tronic, mech an­
ical, or other means, now known or here after inven ted, includ ing
photo copy ing and record ing, or in any inform a tion storage or
retrieval system, without permis sion in writing from the
publish ers.
Trademark notice: Product or corpor ate names may be trade marks
or registered trade marks, and are used only for iden ti fic a tion and
explan a tion without intent to infringe.
First edition published by Routledge 1993
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A cata logue record for this book is avail able from the British
Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Holmes, Paul, 1947 September 16­ , author.
The inner world outside : object relations theory and
psychodrama / Paul Holmes. — [New edition].
p. ; cm. — (Routledge mental health classic edition)
Includes bibliographical references.
I. Title. II. Series: Routledge mental health classic edition.
[DNLM: 1. Object Attachment. 2. Psychodrama. WM 460.5.O2]
RC489.P7
616.89ʹ1523—dc23
2014048133
ISBN: 978­1­138­82925­1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978­1­138­82924­4 (pbk)
ISBN: 978­1­315­72849­0 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by RefineCatch Limited, Bungay, Suffolk
The cover is taken from a picture created by the Huichol tribe in
Mexico who believe that there are two opposed cosmic forces in
the world. They make an annual pilgrim age to San Luis Potosí to
collect peyote and to enact ancient rituals in the desire to return
to where life origin ated, to heal them selves and to ensure the
regen er a tion of the Huichol’s souls.
NB. This is more or less what the Inner World is about minus
the peyote!
This book is dedic ated to Weston Tulloch for his
support during the rebirth of this book.
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Contents
Acknowledgements to the first edition xi
Introduction to the classic edition xii
1 Introduction: psychod rama and psychoa na lytic theory 1
2 The director’s assess ment: systems within systems 14
3 Repetitions and the transf er ence 30
4 The inner object world 50
5 Relationships and roles 65
6 The inner world and the drama of psychot her apy 82
7 The coun ter trans fer ence 97
8 Psychological defence mecha n isms 112
9 Conflicts and anxiety: holding and containm ent 135
10 Playing and reality 151
11 The dynami cs of the group 164
Coda How does psycho drama change people? 183
Bibliography 191
Psychodrama bibli o graphy 197
Name index 198
Subject index 200