Ending human relationships: Problems and potentials

The endings of human relationships, the processes of separation and termination, are discussed by the author, a psychoanalytically oriented psychiatrist, from the perspective of individual and group psychotherapy. Separations are viewed as psychologically traumatic, activating psychic states analogous to those seen in early childhood. The loss reactivates the toddler experience of giving up the mother as an encompassing need-satisfying object. A process of unresolved mourning ensues. The relationship of this entire experience to early states of self-identity formation explains its traumatic nature, yet provides new opportunities for continued consolidation of the sense of self. This, in turn, enhances one's potential for mutuality in new relationships.This article is based on an address he gave at the September 1976 graduation ceremonies of the Foundation for Religion and Mental Health in Briarcliff Manor, New York.