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State-Dependent Self-Representations: A Culture-Bound Aspect of Identity

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Abstract

The concepts of identity, self and self-representation have been discussed extensively in psychoanalytic metapsychology. These concepts are at times confusing and are used interchangeably by various authors. Regardless of what one calls it, what one experiences in a given moment is one's representation as an analyst or a father or a son or daughter, depending on the situation one is in. This paper describes such state-dependent self-representations as an aspect of the self and argues that state-dependent self-representations are probably more clinically relevant and useful in day-to-day practice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. 517 Sixth Street, Brooklyn, 11215, NY

    Amar Ghorpade

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  1. Amar Ghorpade
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Correspondence to Amar Ghorpade.

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1M.D., M.A., is Lecturer at Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research, and Associate Chief of Psychiatry at the Department of Neurosciences, New York Methodist Hospital.

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Ghorpade, A. State-Dependent Self-Representations: A Culture-Bound Aspect of Identity. Am J Psychoanal 69, 72–79 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1057/ajp.2008.40

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