Case of Ruth
“Case of Ruth”
Case Approach to Psychoanalytic Theory
From the psychoanalytic perspective, all techniques are designed to help client gain insights and bring repressed material to the surface so that it can be dealt consciously.
Assessment of Ruth
Looking at the symptoms such as anxiety attacks, overeating, fear of accomplishment, fear of abandonment, and so forth—can be interpreted as outward manifestations of unconscious conflicts that have their origins in childhood experiences and defensive reaction to these experiences that are necessary to her as a child.
Ruth is experiencing a split—a struggle between opposing dimensions of herself. This conflict is between the part of her that wants to change and the other part of her that clings to old patterns that were once necessary and have helped her maintain mental stability all her life.
Development of Personality
In reality, Ruth appears to have superficially avoided normal rebellion and have suppressed her sexuality except for adopting a wifely role with the first man she dated. Although she followed the format of using her mother as a role model and having children by an acceptable husband, she apparently abdicated in the struggles of sexuality, rebellion, and identification, leaving these conflicts unresolved.
Her conscious recollection of her parents’ are of a rigid, fundamentalist father and a critical mother and these may had affected her as a child, a wife, and a mother also.
Ruth was socially isolated and that her lack of relationship outside the family was enforced by her parents, at least in terms of dating.
Her reaction to her daughter Jennifer may very likely be related to her own failure to rebel.
Concept of Human Nature
A Freudian view of her father’s harsh reactions to Ruth “playing doctor”—would emphasize the Oedipus/Electra aspects of this father-daughter encounter. Ruth internalized her father’s overly negative attitudes to sexuality.
Her early training by her parents clearly
Case Approach to Psychoanalytic Theory
From the psychoanalytic perspective, all techniques are designed to help client gain insights and bring repressed material to the surface so that it can be dealt consciously.
Assessment of Ruth
Looking at the symptoms such as anxiety attacks, overeating, fear of accomplishment, fear of abandonment, and so forth—can be interpreted as outward manifestations of unconscious conflicts that have their origins in childhood experiences and defensive reaction to these experiences that are necessary to her as a child.
Ruth is experiencing a split—a struggle between opposing dimensions of herself. This conflict is between the part of her that wants to change and the other part of her that clings to old patterns that were once necessary and have helped her maintain mental stability all her life.
Development of Personality
In reality, Ruth appears to have superficially avoided normal rebellion and have suppressed her sexuality except for adopting a wifely role with the first man she dated. Although she followed the format of using her mother as a role model and having children by an acceptable husband, she apparently abdicated in the struggles of sexuality, rebellion, and identification, leaving these conflicts unresolved.
Her conscious recollection of her parents’ are of a rigid, fundamentalist father and a critical mother and these may had affected her as a child, a wife, and a mother also.
Ruth was socially isolated and that her lack of relationship outside the family was enforced by her parents, at least in terms of dating.
Her reaction to her daughter Jennifer may very likely be related to her own failure to rebel.
Concept of Human Nature
A Freudian view of her father’s harsh reactions to Ruth “playing doctor”—would emphasize the Oedipus/Electra aspects of this father-daughter encounter. Ruth internalized her father’s overly negative attitudes to sexuality.
Her early training by her parents clearly