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JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT, 1990, 55(3&4),
75(>-767Cop3mght 1990, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Potential Space and the Rorschach: AnApplication of Object
Relations Theory
Bruce L. SmithAlta Bates-Herrick Hospital
Berkeley, CA
This article examines the concept of potential space, developed
by Winnicott(1971), and its relevance for Rorschach assessment. I
propose that the responseprocess can be viewed as occurring in the
potential space between reality andfantasy and that various forms
of psychopathology can be conceptualized as formsof the collapse of
potential space. I suggest that this model can be of utility
ininterpreting the Rorschach protocols of a variety of
difficult-to-diagnose patients.Examples from the Rorschach of a
patient diagnosed with a dissociative disorderare presented to
illustrate these points.
For the psychoanalytically oriented clinician who is also
interested in theRorschach, these are the strangest of times. There
has been an explosion of newideas and theories about development
and psychopathology, especially aboutmore serious pathologies, that
promises to add greatly to our understanding andability to treat a
wide range of heretofore inexplicable conditions. At the sametime,
there has been a reawakening of interest in the Rorschach, once
thehallmark of psychoanalytic psychology, after several decades of
relative neglect.Unfortunately, for the most part, these two areas
of inquiry have had little, ifanything, to do with each other. This
is largely a function of the atheoreticalempirical approach that
has characterized much of the literature on projectivetechniques
over the past 10 years. At the same time that Rorschachists seem
tohave abandoned psychoanalytic theory as a framework within which
to under-stand their observations, too many psychoanalytic
psychologists have ignoredthe Rorschach as a means of learning
about mental processes. The strength ofthe Rorschach lies not so
much in the correlations between particular scores andformal
diagnoses or behavioral ratings as in the opportunity that it
offers to theclinician to view the mental processes of the subject.
This requires a method ofinterpretation that pays attention to the
response process itself as it unfolds in
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POTENTIAL SPACE AND THE RORSCHACH 757
what Schachtel (1966) termed the individual's encounter with the
blot and atheoretical framework within which to fit one's
observations.
Recent advances in object relations theory have deepened the
psychoanalyticunderstanding of numerous forms of psychopathology.
These advances havenot, however, been matched by advances in
psychological assessment. Al-though interest in the application of
object relations theory to Rorschachassessment has grown
considerably since Mayman's (1967) initial object-relational
approach to content analysis, the view expressed by Blatt and
H.Lerner (1983) is still valid: Research on the Rorschach test has
not kept pacewith advances in psychoanalytic theory. Most of the
more recent contributions(see Kissen, 1986; Kwawer, H. Lerner, P.
Lerner, &. Sugarman, 1980; H. Lerner&. P. Lerner, 1988)
have tended to focus on the assessment of self-representations or
the representation of internal objects in Rorschach responses.It is
my view that there are other areas of recent object relations
theory that canbe applied fruitfully to the study of the Rorschach.
In particular, the ideas ofWinnicott and his followers, in spite of
wide application in the study ofpersonality and psychopathology,
have yet to make an appearance in theRorschach literature. This
contribution is an attempt to apply one suchconceptpotential
spaceto Rorschach assessment, and I hope to demonstratethe utility
of this concept both for furthering our understanding of
theRorschach response process and for analyzing the protocols of a
wide variety ofdifficult-to-diagnose patients.
POTENTIAL SPACE
The concept of potential space, initially articulated by
Winnicott (1971) andfurther developed by others (e.g.. Green, 1975;
Ogden, 1989; Pontalis, 1981),offers a fruitful approach to the
understanding of both the Rorschach responseprocess and certain
forms of psychopathology. Winnicott (1971) postulated thatthere was
a potential space between the self and the object that both
facilitatedand was a consequence of the process of separation:
I refer to the hypothetical area that exists (but cannot exist)
between the baby andthe object (mother or part of mother) during
the phase of the repudiation of theobject as not-me, that is, at
the end of being merged in with the object, (p. 107)
This space can be conceived of as an intermediary area between
reality andfantasy. Because creative living involves the constant
interpretation of experi-encethat is, the reconciliation of the
inner (fantasy) and outer (reality)worldsone can see why Winnicott
(1971) also described this as the "placewhere we live" (p. 104). It
is tbe location of symbolic thought, play, and cultural
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758 SMITH
experiences. The crucial aspect of his area of experience' is
the paradox of itslocus; it is perceived as on the border of the
self and other, partaking of bo th -and neither-at the same time,
much as the shore is land and sea simulta-neously.
The existence of potential space for the individual is
synonymous with acapacity to tolerate illusion and develops out of
process of separation from themother. Winnicott (1956/1975a)
presumed that initially there is the illusion thatmother and infant
are not separate; the mother exists only in the form of
anonrepresented environment that meets the infant's needs in such a
way thatthey are not experienced as needs. At this point, the task
of development is fora gradual transition to a state in which there
is a mother and an infant, separateand distinct. This can only
occur through the gradual disillusionment of thefantasy of an
undifferentiated dyad. As the mother gradually distances
herselffrom the infant (by titrated absences and failures to meet
his or her needs), aspace opens up between them that is filled by
the infant's growing capacity tomanipulate symbols and thus create
representations of the absent mother.During these absences, the
infant learns to soothe himself or herself with the aidof a
transitional object (Winnicott, 1951/1975b), a piece of the
environmentthat is nevertheless experienced as under the infant's
omnipotent control. Theoutcome of a successful process of
separation is the development of a space thatis experienced as safe
and ripe with potential. Where separation has been tooabrupt or
traumatic or where the maternal care has been too inconstant,
thespace between self and other is experienced as a frightening
void, an emptinessthat cannot be filled or symbolized. Winnicott
(1974) referred to this experienceas "primitive agony" (p. 104) and
felt that such experiences must be avoided at allcosts.
Ogden (1989) suggested that there is a dialectical process
between reality andfantasy in which each create and negate the
other. Neither concept has meaningexcept in relationship with the
other. This relationship occurs in the potentialspace. In this
model, defenses can be thought of as disruptions in the
dialecticalprocess between fantasy and reality in which each pole
becomes dissociated fromthe other, resulting in the loss of
meaning. Ogden referred to this process as thecollapse of potential
space.
Many forms of psychopathology can be conceptualized as
manifestations of acollapse of potential space. Ogden limns four
ways in which this may occur:
1. The reality pole may be collapsed into the fantasy, such that
fantasy isexperienced concretely as external reality as in the
psychoses.
2. The fantasy pole may collapse into the reality, such that the
capacity toimagine is impaired and experience is robbed of its
color and vitality. This
'The terms area of experience or space do not, of course, refer
to literal space in the Euclidean sense,but to a metaphoric zone of
psychological experience.
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POTENTIAL SPACE AND THE RORSCHACH 759
is observed in the severe obsessional states, psychosomatic
illness, or thoseconditions described as "normotic" by BoUas (1989)
or "normopathic" byMcDougall (1980).
3. A radical dissociation between reality and fantasy may occur,
such thatthey are experienced as parallel and equal realities.
Dissociative disorders,fetishes, and perversions manifest this form
of collapse.
4. In extreme cases (i.e., autistic states), there may be a
failure to create anyconnection between inner and outer experience;
reality and fantasy are,thus, never created, and no meaning is
generated in the first place.
Of particular interest are those cases in which reality is used
as a defenseagainst fantasy and those in which there is a radical
separation between the two.These patients can often look quite
normal on the surface. Indeed, what one isstruck by is not what is
there, but rather what is missingany sense of vitality
orplayfulness. As discussed later, such patients can pose serious
challenges for thepsychodiagnostician, because the absence of
superficial signs of pathology onpsychological tests may belie the
desperation and emptiness that these individ-uals feel.
POTENTIAL SPACE AND THE RORSCHACH RESPONSEPROCESS
How is it that subjects come to reveal their inner worlds
through theirRorschach percepts? It must be remembered that
Rorschach perceptsliketransitional objectsare simultaneously
created and found: created in the sensethat the blot is an
amorphous form that is given meaning by the subject's ovi^
nperceptual and cognitive processes, and found in that the
resulting image mustbe reconciled with the attributes of the blot.
This reconciliation of inner andouter occurs in the intermediate
zonethe potential spacebetween reality andfantasy, and the
resultant percept, like any creative product, contains elementsof
both. In this process, the subject forms a relationship, albeit a
transitory one,with the object represented in the percept. Most
studies of object representationin the Rorschach tend to focus on
the nature of the object represented. I suggestthat the nature of
the subject's relationship to that object is a relevant dimensionas
well. How was the object created? At what distance from the self is
the objectexperienced? What are the subject's wishes toward the
object? What are his orher fears of it? These, too, are relevant
questions for the analysis of Rorschachprotocols and may be
approached by a careful analysis of the nature of thesubject's
response process.
These notions may best be illustrated by a consideration of what
happens inthose cases in which there is a failure to maintain the
potential space. For somepatients, the task of reconciling reality
with fantasy is difficult, if not impossible.
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760 SMITH
As a consequence, they lose the capacity to see the blot as if
it were the percept.They either form relationships with their
percepts isomorphic with real objectsor, alternatively, are unable
to enliven them at all. One schizophrenic patient,for example,
after responding to Card II, "It's having its period. . . ,"
dropped thecard abruptly on the table and began frantically wiping
his hands on his trousersas if to remove the blood stains. For him,
the card had ceased to be an inkblotthat reminded him of female
genitalia or menstrual blood, it had become that,and he experienced
all of the attraction, revulsion, and so on, that he felt
towardwoman and their sexuality. One might say that he failed to
reconcile reality withfantasy and instead superimposed the latter
onto the former, in the processobliterating it. This is, of course,
an example of the first type of collapse ofpotential space, in
which the reality pole is collapsed into the fantasy. I suggestthat
this inability to maintain awareness of the "as if aspect of the
percept hasmore profound diagnostic and prognostic significance
than the morbidity of thecontent or even many of the formal
properties of the response. In this case, therelationship with the
percept was quite intense, although predominantly aggres-sive. One
might expect a proneness for developing powerful psychotic
transfer-ences in which the therapist becomes the infantile object
or at least a difficultymaintaining awareness of the
nontransference relationship in psychotherapy.Indeed, this young
man frequently developed delusional ideas about his thera-pist that
were often quite difficult to manage. Less dramatic is the reaction
of adepressed young woman who responded to Card III, "This card
makes me feellike someone's been shot. . . ," at which point she
needed to take a break fromthe testing. This patient experienced
her reaction as if it had been produced bythe blot, almost as if
the blot itself were animate. The inability to continue withthe
testing reflects her failure to reestablish a potential space in
which to createpercepts. In this case, what is particularly
noteworthy is that this breakdownoccurred in the context of a
protocol that was not formally disturbed (i.e., formlevel,
experience balance, qualitive scores, etc. all suggested a
nonpsychoticpicture). The patient herself was a highly accomplished
academician whonevertheless tended to form primitive, intensely
dependent relationships withher therapist, with transient psychotic
transference manifestations. This lattertendency was reflected in
her inability to maintain adequate distance from theblot.
By contrast, some patients fail to connect at all with their
percepts. For them,the blot remains just tha t -an inkblot. When
pressed, they might acknowledgethat the outline of the card roughly
resembles the outline of a bat or a wolfs heador some other popular
image, but they stress that it is only a vague resemblance.Their
responses are lifeless, not because they are depressed or gloomy,
butbecause they steadfastly refuse to inject any of themselves into
them. Suchpatients are frequently highly attuned to nuances of
denotative reality (reflectedon the Rorschach by good form level)
but fail to animate their perceptions withany personal meaning. It
is not that their fantasies are repressed; the effects of
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POTENTIAL SPACE AND THE RORSCHACH 761
repression can be readily seen in Rorschach testing as has been
carefullydemonstrated by Schafer (1954). Rather, fantasy has been
foreclosed; it is notunconscious, it is missing from the psyche
altogether. In the terms of thisdiscussion, potential space has
been destroyed by the collapse ofthe fantasy poleof experience into
the reality pole. This kind of restriction is often noted in
theRorschach protocols of the broad spectrum of alexithymic
patients,^ includingthose with psychosomatic illnesses, eating
disorders, and sexual perversions, aswell as those of so-called
"normopathic" patients. This latter group is character-ized by a
lack of subjective distress (except, perhaps, for some vague sense
of"something missing"), an improverishment of expression, and a
profound lack ofcuriosity. For them, things just "are." Many of
these individuals, especially thosewithout overt symptomatology,
produce protocols that are superficiallyunremarkable. The number of
responses is typically rather low and the Experi-ence Balance is
usually coarctated, but otherwise the formal properties of
theprotocol may be within normal limits. What sets these protocols
apart isconstriction of the images represented, a lack of
integration of other determi-nants with form, and, especially, the
extreme difficulty the subjects have withthe task itself. As one
young man expressed to me, "It's an inkblot, how could itbe
anything else?" Another patient explained, when queried as to why
he hadfailed to give more than one response per card, "If it looks
like a bat, then it lookslike a bat. Bats don't look like anything
else." Still a third could not understandthe task of the Rorschach
at all, despite repeated instructions. Finally indesperation I
likened it to the childhood game of staring at clouds and
imaginingshapes in them. He looked at me in utter puzzlement and
said, "People actuallydo that? I don't understand; clouds are
clouds."
It is interesting to note that an unusually high number of space
responses canfrequently be observed in the protocols of these
patients. The concrete repre-sentation of emptiness or "the void"
may stimulate primitive anxiety and a needto fill the space with
something solid. This seems especially true for Cards II, III,and
VII, which contain large central spaces that may symbolize either
aseparation between the two main figures or, alternatively, an
inner emptiness.Interestingly, these space responses are often the
most elaborated and revealingof the entire protocol. For example,
one young woman, who presented with amixture of psychosomatic
symptoms and vague complaints of unease anddissatisfaction, gave no
fewer than 12 space responses in a protocol of 38 totalresponses.
Moreover, her form level was far better for these responses than
fiDrresponses to the blots themselves. Indeed, a number of her
space (S) responseswere scored as original percepts, in contrast to
her other responses, which werealmost universally prosaic and of
indifferent quality.
^Alexithymia is a term first coined by Slfheos (1967) to
describe those patients who lack thecapacity to experience affect
and can only express it through physical symptoms. Its literal
meaningis "lacking words for feelings."
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762 SMITH
The value of this approach to conceptualizing Rorschach
responses is at leasttwofold. First, it offers a framework within
which to understand the develop-ment of the response that is
consistent with object relations theory. Thus, theresponses may be
interpreted with the same language that one uses to discussaspects
of the subject's relational world, including the psychotherapeutic
rela-tionship. Inferences drawn in this way are likely to be of
greater clinical utilitythan those that focus on general behavioral
traits or nosological categories. Byconceiving of the response as
an example of transitional functioning occurringin the potential
space between reality and fantasy, the Rorschach response maybe
seen as a reflection of the way in which the individual constructs
his or herreality and copes with the trauma of separation and the
awareness of connec-tion. Second, the model of psychopathology that
is derived from the constructof potential spaceand its
collapseprovides a framework for interpretingRorschach records that
may appear superficially unremarkable but neverthelessreflect
profound underlying pathology. This is especially true of the full
spec-trum of alexithymic disorders firom the "normopath" to the
pervert to thedissociative disorders. In the next section, I
consider how this model can beapplied to one such disorder.
DISSOCIATIVE DISORDER: AN EXAMPLE OECOLLAPSED POTENTIAL
SPACE
Dissociative disorders, including multiple personality disorder
(MPD), are beingrecognized and diagnosed with increasing frequency
(Putnam, 1989). A dissocia-tive disorder is one in which there are
abrupt breaks in conscious experience suchthat the individual
experiences amnesia for significant periods, fugue states, orevenin
the case of MPDseveral parallel states of consciousness.
Thepsychodiagnosis of these conditions can often be difficult
because the nature oftest responses may depend in larger part on
the state in which the subject tookthe exam (or in the case of MPD,
which personality took the test). Thus, forexample, Wagner and
Heise (1974) suggested a large number of diversifiedmovement (M)
responses and labile conflicting color (C) responses as a
commonpattern to MPD Rorschachs, whereas Lovitt and Lefkof (1985)
found contradic-tory results. Using the Comprehensive System, they
studied three MPD patientsand found relatively little communality
among the cases with the exception ofambitent experience balances
in all cases. Most interesting was the finding ofdifferent
structural properties for protocols obtained from different
personalitiesof the same individual. Although the patient as a
whole may not evince aconsistent coping style, a particular
personality is apt to. Thus, the nature of theRorschach protocol
may depend on the ego state present when the test is given.
I believe it is fruitful to conceive of dissociative disorders
as a form of collapsedpotential space, specifically one in which
reality and fantasy are experienced as
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POTENTIAL SPACE AND THE RORSCHACH 763
parallel-but disconnected-realities. In an earlier article
(Smith, 1989), I arguedthat multiple personality can be understood
in part as a failure to developtransitional objects at the
phase-appropriate time. As a consequence fantasyobjects are
experienced not as illusory, but as real. Unlike psychotic
individuals,however, the experience of external reality is not
thereby destroyed; rather aseries of separate, but equal, realities
is experienced.
Given this conceptualization, one would expect Rorschach
protocols fromsuch patients to manifest some of the features of
collapsed potential space justoutlined. The evidence for a
dissociative process may appear less in the struc-tural properties
of the protocol as a whole than in the manner of approach to
thetask, the relationships among the responses, and the experience
of the whitespaces. Analysis of these features requires a careful,
psychoanalytically informedscrutiny of the subject's verbatim
verbalizations and affective demeanor. In thefollowing case example
of a dissociative disorder, a number of these features
arenoted.
The patient, Ms. A, was a 19-year-old college freshman who was
hospitalizedfollowing a dramatic and extremely serious suicidal
attempt; her survival ofwhich was nearly miraculous. Upon
admission, she appeared calm, cheerful,and cooperative. She could
give no reasons for the attempt on her life, except tosay that
something had come over her and that she was sure that it would
nothappen again. Hospital personnel were struck by the absence of
any overtpsychopathology and were at a loss to explain her lethal
behavior. She wasreferred for psychological testing in order to
clarify this diagnostic puzzle.
Although Ms. A was administered a full standard psychological
test battery,only the Rorschach is discussed here. The Rorschach
was administered andscored according to the procedures recommended
by Rapaport, Gill, andSchafer (1968) and Allison, Blatt, and Zimet
(1968). These methods wereselected because they tend to produce
somewhat longer protocols than theComprehensive System. In my
experience, patients such as Ms. A frequentlyproduce protocols with
too few responses for a valid structural summary to becomputed.
The formal scoring revealed few, if any, overt signs of
psychopathology. Theprotocol was sparse, with only 17 responses,
and the range of images was quiterestricted and stereotypic (47%
animals and 30% populars). Form levels (F+%and extended F+ %) were
high, suggesting intact reality testing, and the F% andextended F%
were also in the expected range. An Experience Balance of
3:2.5suggests perhaps an inconsistent coping style, but only the
presence of threeresponses using both blot and space {WS
responses), a shading-form response{ChF) or achromatic color form
response (CF), and one pure C are evidence ofmore serious
pathology. In short, the general impression gleaned from theformal
properties of the protocol is of a bland, constricted young woman
in noacute distress.
Upon close inspection of the wording and sequence of responses,
however, it
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764 SMITH
is possible to see evidence for dissociative tendencies and the
failure to maintainpotential space, as discussed in this article.
In particular, the following featuresare highlighted: a focus on
denotative reality; a preoccupation with the whitespace*,,ajack of
connectedness between images; and, in particular, a
dissociationbetween affect and cognition.
On the first card, following a response of a "dog's head" when
asked if she sawanything else, she replied, "Else? It can be more
than one thing?," and began totremble. She then responded with a
"jack-o-lattern,' because the white spaceslooked as if a bright
light were shining through them. Here we can see the shockand
discomfort with the notion that the blot may represent more than
oneimage as well as a preoccupation with the white space, in this
case seen not as avoid, but as a strong light. This preoccupation
with the white space continuedthroughout the protocol. On Card VII,
for example, "two little girls" were seenas ignoring each other in
part because there was "so much space in betweenthem."
A second striking feature was the severing of links or
connections betweenimages. On Card II she initially saw "two clowns
dancing . . . it also looks likethey could be fighting." After some
time, she said, "It also looks like blood onpavement." Upon
inquiry, she made it clear that these were two entirely
separateresponses, and, furthermore, the association of "fighting"
in no way related tothe "blood on the pavement." The latter
response was determined solely by thecolors gray and red, whereas
the former was determined by form alone. Here sheseemed to be
saying that people may fight and there may be blood on theground,
but the two events are in no way causally connected. Her only
othermorbid response was similar in that it was disconnected from
what preceded orfollowed it, and she had considerable difficulty
justifying it. She saw half of CardVI turned sideways as
"countryside that was either on fire or had been bombed."She was
unable to explain what determined this response except to say that
itlooked like smoke. Again, as with the response to Card II, there
is an aftermath,but little indication of what might have caused it.
Again, the introduction ofaffect, in this case in the form of
shading or achromatic color, occurs in lieu ofcognition, as if it
were a property of a different part of her and disconnected fromher
thinking ego. Connectionor lack of connectionwas a
preoccupationthroughout the protocol. Ms. A was visibly anxious
whenever responding todetails rather than the whole blot, referring
at such times to her images as "inpieces." On several occasions,
she responded to one half of the blot, but neededto cover the other
half with her hand in order to do so. In these instances,
sherequired reassurance that she was permitted to respond in this
manner.
What emerges from these observations is consistent with the
con-ceptualization just put forth: a collapsed potential space and
two parallel spheresof experience. Affectively laden percepts are
disavowed and divorced from otherresponses, almost as if they were
from a different person. There is an acuteawareness of and
discomfort with representations of space and disconnect-
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POTENTIAL SPACE AND THE RORSCHACH 765
edness. Finally, there is a preoccupation with the denotative
aspects of externalreality and an attempt to deny inner reality
(especially affect). Unlike that of thealexithymic, however, Ms.
A's inner world is not entirely absent; rather it isexperienced as
separate and distinct. It should be noted in passing that
herThematic Apperception Test (TAT) stories were entirely
consistent with theRorschach protocol: bland, unimaginative stories
with occasional unexplainedreferences to death.
These observations neither constitute a thorough analysis of
this case noroffer evidence for a particular hypothesis. Rather,
selected observations werechosen solely to illustrate how a
conceptualization of dissociation as a form ofcollapsed potential
space can apply to the interpretation of a protocol with
fewblatantly pathological formal properties.
Based on the results of the psychological assessment, Ms. A was
diagnosed ashaving a dissociative disorder, possibly MPD. Based on
the fact that thedissociated affective states typically appear in
the form of the consequences ofaggression (blood on the pavement,
smoke from a fire or bomb, the references todeath on the TAT), her
suicidal potential was considered to be extremely high.Quoting from
the original psychological report: ". . . the extremity of
thedissociation and the lack of connectedness between her affects
and her thoughtsall point to an ongoing significant risk of
suicidal acting out. . . . Most alarming,of course, is the fact
that she is unlikely, at least at present, to be able to
giveclear-cut warning signals of her suicidal intentions (she is
probably, for the mostpart, unaware of them herself)."
Following the psychological assessment, the hospital staff, who
were alerted tothe nature of her psychopathology, began to see
clinical signs of dissociationincluding sudden shifts in mood,
frequent brief amnesias, and periods ofdepersonalization and
derealization. Unfortunately, she insisted on being dis-charged
from the hospital shortly after the testing was concluded,
maintainingthat she was no longer suicidal nor depressed and that
she fully intended tocontinued outpatient psychotherapy. Because
there were not sufficient overtsigns of imminent suicidality, she
could not be committed, and she left thehospital in cheerful
spirits. Less than 12 hr later, she drove to a nearby bridgeand
leapt to her death.
CONCLUSION
In this article, I attempted to discuss the implications of
potential space, atheoretical construct derived from object
relations theory, for Rorschach assess-ment. I proposed that the
Rorschach response be considered as a transitionalphenomenon, a
reconciliation of inner and outer reality that occurs in
anintermediate zone of experience. It should be stressed that the
analogy betweenthe Rorschach response and the transitional object
is by no means perfect.
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766 SMITH
Whereas the transitional object is chosen to soothe the child in
the absence ofthe mother, the Rorschach percept is created in
response to the demands of thetherapist. Likewise, the choice of
object is not free. It is a crucial aspect of thetransitional
object that the child choose it freely; it cannot be given to him.
Withthe Rorschach, on the other hand, the objectthe blotbelongs to
the exam-iner, and it is with this object that the subject must
create the percept. Thisnecessarily brings into play the entire
area of the transference relationshipbetween examinee and examiner,
a topic well beyond the scope of this article.
I also suggested that several forms of psychopathology can be
conceptualizedas the failure to maintain potential space, either in
the form of one pole ofexperience collapsing into the other or of a
dissociation between reality experi-ence and fantasy. This paradigm
offers promise for the assessment of otherwisedifficult to diagnose
conditions, such as alexithymia, dissociative disorders,
and"normopathy." Again, no claim is being made for this as a
comprehensive modelof psychopathology nor is it intended to replace
other psychodynamicallyinformed modes of interpretation. In the
Case of Ms. A, for example, acomprehensive Rorschach assessment
included consideration of her self andobject representations, ego
and superego functioning, and core dynamic con-flicts.
I suggest that Winnicott's (1971) concept of potential space
offers promise fordeepening our understanding ofthe Rorschach
response process and, thus, themeaning of Rorschach data. Basing
our interpretations of Rorschach data onsound theoretical
principles is necessary if we are to offer other than
superficialobservations about patients. At the same time,
operationalizing our theoreticalconstructs and applying them to
actual clinical material is required if we are toadvance
psychoanalytic theory. The reciprocal influence between theory
andassessment can only be of benefit to both fields.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Some of the ideas contained in this article were developed in
discussions withLaura Doty, MA, whose stimulating collaboration is
gratefully acknowledged.
An earlier version of this article was presented at the Society
for PersonalityAssessment Annual Meeting in San Diego, March 22-24,
1990.
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Bruce L. SmithDepartment of PsychiatryAlta Bates-Herrick
Hospital2001 Dwight WayBerkeley, CA 94704
Received March 1, 1990