Human rights and civil liberties - Choose one of the rights listed Essay

Human rights and civil liberties - Choose one of the rights listed below. Explain how the European Convention on Human Rights seeks to uphold that right, highli - Essay Example Under the Treaty, inhuman and degrading punishment would violate the rights of an individual, or even a child, to freedom from arbitrary treatment - such as excessive punishment or torture under imprisonment. There have been allegations of inhuman and degrading treatment in prisons and the provisions of the Geneva Convention have been found inadequate in this regard. However, Article 3 of the European Convention addresses all such violations of the right to freedom from discriminatory treatment. Article 3 has been primarily applied in respect to international victims of torture and cruel, arbitrary treatment while imprisoned. However corporal punishment of children is also emerging as an area where the provisions of Article 3 would apply. Such punishment would be equivalent to mental and physical torture which is deemed to be unacceptable under the Convention. Yet traditional belief has held that corporal punishment is an essential part of discipline and this conflict between punishm ent and freedom from torture has generated controversy within the European Union. In view of the fact that â€Å"we live in a society in which violence is spreading like a plague†4 and incidents of terrorist violence and destruction are soaring, the provisions of Article 3 of the Convention help to protect individuals from violence. When the violence or torture is perpetrated on children through corporal punishment, there is a special cause of action that arises for the exercise of Article 3, since children are in a weaker position as compared to adults. Corporal punishment can sometimes be excessive and thereby constitute degrading treatment that harms the child physically, emotionally and mentally. Legal reforms have been undertaken in several countries to declare corporal punishment of children unlawful - a violation of the protection against torture and inhuman treatment guaranteed under Article

Comparing and Contrasting Two Golf Greats Essay Example for Free

Comparing and Contrasting Two Golf Greats Essay Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods are respectively the two greatest golf players in the history of the sport. Nicklaus and Woods both dominated the game and nearly set unattainable standards that future players can only dream of achieving. The records that Nicklaus and Woods have set are legendary and only a brilliant prodigy could possibly surpass them. Currently, Nicklaus is the greatest player in the history of the sport, but as a retired player he can achieve no more. In contrast, Woods who is an active player continues his quest to surpass Nicklaus and establish himself as the greatest player in history. As Woods continues to achieve greatness, comparisons are often made between himself and Nicklaus and although their success in golf is comparable, they are two distinctly different people. However, whatever their differences and similarities are Nicklaus and Woods’ are on a collision course with history to determine who will be the greatest golf player in history of the sport. Nicklaus and Woods are comparable when it comes to golf and one of the major similarities they share is their dominance of the game. Woods and Nicklaues became dominate early in their careers, they both won their first majors at the ages of 21 and 22 respectively (Diaz) and Woods became the youngest player in golf history to win a Major. Both men proved they were forces on the tour, â€Å"in their first nine years as pros, Nicklaus won eight majors (1962-70) and Woods has won ten (1997-present)† (Diaz) and both players also attained the number one ranking. Woods and Nicklaus have also earned comparable amounts of prize money. According to Tiger Woods’ official profile on the PGA Tour’s website; Woods has earned an astonishing $68,179,382 in prize money, while â€Å"Nicklaus has earned $5,734,031† (Tiger vs. Jack), which is worth over 50 million dollars when inflation is adjusted. Furthermore, Nicklaus and Woods can also be compared with their contributions to the sport. Nicklaus is credited for making golf a spectator sport, while Woods is credited for brining in minority viewers and players. Despite all the similarities they share, Nicklaus and Woods also have many contrasts. One major contrast between Nicklaus and Woods is their backgrounds. Nicklaus comes from a white middle-class family, while Woods comes from a multi-ethnic family. Nicklaus and Woods are also different in regards to how they rose to prominence in golf. For instance, Nicklaus played in many sports and didn’t seriously focus on golf until his late teens. Nicklaus once said, â€Å"I didnt even decide that golf was a significant part of my life until I was 19 (qtd. in Diaz), which was a drastic contrast from Woods. From the age of 2 Woods was groomed to be a golf player and was considered a prodigy and by 19 was already a celebrity, unlike Nicklaus. Another significant difference between Nicklaus and Woods is that Woods is a marketing superstar who endorses many products, thus giving Woods a much higher international profile than Nicklaus. Lastly, the most important difference between the two greats is that played in different eras. Some argue that Woods’ era is far more difficult because it’s more competitive and has greater depth, while others argue that Nicklaus’ era was more competitive and produced more golf record holders. However, regardless of whose era is stronger both eras produced Nicklaus and Woods who are the two greatest golf players in history. Nicklaus and Woods are the greatest golfers in the history of the sport. They both added brilliance to the sport and although the chapters in Nicklaus’ career are over, few players will ever come close to achieving what he has. The only player that currently has a chance of surpassing Nicklaus is Woods, whose chasing records and glory of his own. Works Cited â€Å"Tiger vs. Jack: A Head-to-Head Comparison. † golfdigest. com. 4 April 2007. http://www. golfdigest. com/majors/pga/index. ssf? /majors/pga/tigervsjack. html. Diaz, Jamie. Tiger Woods vs. Jack Nicklaus: Who is the Greatest Player of All Time? There Has Never Been a Better Time to Compare. golfdigest. com. December 2002. 4 April 2007. http://www. golfdigest. com/features/index. ssf? /features/gd200212 tigervsjack. html. â€Å"Tiger Woods Profile. † Pgatour. com. 4 April 2007. http://www. pgatour. com/players/00/87/93/index. html.

Overview Of Domestic Violence Criminology Essay

Overview Of Domestic Violence Criminology Essay Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, or intimate partner violence, is any threatening behaviour, violence, or abuse between adults who are or have been in a relationship (Saunders Barron, 2004). HM Prison Service has employed the following definition of DV: Actual, attempted, or threatened physical harm perpetrated by a man or woman against someone with whom he or she has, or has had, an intimate, sexual relationship (Kropp, Hart, Webster, Eaves, 1999). Psychological abuse has not been included in this definition because of the complexities surrounding this term. However, as other theories include this form of abuse, it will be discussed within this review. Domestic abuse accounts for 14% of all violent crimes and has more repeat victims than any other offence. Repeat victimisation accounts for two-thirds of domestic abuse incidents, and a fifth of victims have been abused on three occasions or more (Walker, Flatley, Kershaw, Moon, 2009). Spousal abuse takes place throughout society, regardless of gender, age, sexuality, race, location, or affluence; however, victims of domestic assault are more likely to be women (National Crime Victimization Survey, 2007). Children can also be severely affected by what they witness and often show the highest levels of behavioural and emotional disturbance (OKeefe, 1994). In addition, they may be accidentally injured due to being embroiled in the violence perpetrated towards their mother, they could be subjected to intentional abuse by the male perpetrator, or they may receive physical abuse from their over-stressed mother (Abrahams, 1994). Furthermore, there is a strong correlation between child abuse and DV, in that those who are abused as children are more likely to become perpetrators of abuse as adults (Walby Allen, 2004). DV can be psychological, physical, or sexual (Department of Health, 2005). Psychological abuse can include isolation from loved ones, blackmail of harm to others if they should convey contentment or self-sufficiency, humiliation, controlling what they can and cannot do, withholding information from them, restricting their finances and access to resources, or belittling them and making them feel embarrassed. Physical abuse involves contact with the intention of causing injury, pain, or intimidation (Shipway, 2004). Sexual abuse is prevalent in assaultive relationships with between a third and half of abused women being raped by their partners on at least one occasion (Myhill Allen, 2002). Sexual assault is considered to be any occasion during which force is used to acquire engagement in unwanted, degrading, or unsafe, sexual activity. Women who are assaulted both sexually and physically are also at increased risk of being seriously or fatally injured (Stark Flitcraft, 1996). Regardless of the form of abuse, it often occurs on more than one occasion. DV is generally a pattern of controlling and abusive behaviour, which a perpetrator uses to gain power over a partner (Walby, 2004). A range of studies, which follow, have examined the physical and emotional consequences of being subjected to abuse by an intimate partner. The female victims of male partner violence often experience psychological difficulties (Foa, Cascardi, Zoellner Feeny, 2000) including features of trauma (Kemp, Green, Hovanitz Rawlings, 1995). They struggle with issues such as self-esteem (Aguilar Nightingale, 1994), stress and depression (Campbell Lewandowski, 1997) and employment (National Research Council, 1996). Theories of DV There are numerous theories which attempt to explain DV. These are discussed below, along with an overview of the Healthy Relationships Programme (HRP) and its theoretical basis According to psychodynamic theory, due to an ordeal from childhood, or a personality disorder, some people are prone to violence. Therefore, their abusive behaviour is a symptom of a deep-seated psychological problem. Consequently, it claims that the issue of DV should be addressed by identifying the subconscious problem, then consciously remedying it (Saunders, 1996). Critics of psychodynamic theory argue that this simply allots a label to perpetrators of DV, which permits them to remain abusive until their emotional issues are managed (Healey, Smith OSullivan, 1998). According to Pro-Feminist theory, male to female DV is due to the patriarchal organisation of society where the male is viewed as the head of the family and other social institutions. As a result of this, perpetrators often believe that they are permitted to control the actions of their partner. Should their authority be threatened, they respond with violence in order to regain control, whilst holding the belief that their behaviour is warranted (Healey et al, 1998). Using data from the USA, Yllo and Straus (1990) examined the association between spousal abuse and patriarchy. They discovered that American states which gave women the highest and lowest standing in society had greater incidents of female intimate partner abuse. They claimed that states where females had high standing and spousal abuse figures were increased, was due to mens perception that their masculinity is threatened. Conversely, in states where women had low standing and spousal abuse figures were high, this was f elt to denote patriarchal norms. This theory has been criticised by Dutton (1994) for over-emphasising socio-cultural factors, whilst excluding individual factors. In addition, he argued that their explanation of DV was insufficient. Cognitive-behavioural theory proposes that DV is due to the re-enactment of abuse from childhood experiences or media influence, and that assaultive behaviour is rewarded. It further claims that through abuse, the perpetrator succeeds in obtaining what he wants, which is strengthened through acquiescence on the part of the victim (Hamill, Hayward, Wynn Craven, 1997). Family systems theory argues that behavioural problems derive from a dysfunctional family, where everybody is responsible for conflict. Consequently, DV is a result of intimate partners interacting together; therefore, neither is classed as the abuser, regardless of whether only one of them displays physical violence (Straus, Hamby, Boney-McCoy Sugarman, 1996). Both Pro-Feminist and Cognitive-Behavioural approaches criticise this approach by maintaining that DV does not involve joint responsibility, perpetrators are entirely responsible for their behaviour, victims are in no way to blame for the abuse they experience, and nobody provokes violence. They maintain that this approach encourages victim blaming (Browne, 1993). Disempowerment theory states that men who have low self-esteem or perceive themselves as being inadequate are at risk of using violence to assert power (Archer, 1994). Consequently, they redress this by attempting to control those they are threatened by (Gondolf, Fisher, Fisher McPherson, 1988). This theory states that individual traits, such as self esteem and psychological symptoms, increase risk of DV based on personality-oriented factors, such as attachment style. Family of origin factors, such as violence in the home and child abuse, occur during developmental years, and provide conflict resolution for the children as adults. Relationship characteristics, such as partner satisfaction and emotional dependency, can place a person at risk of being domestically abusive (McKenry, Serovich, Mason, Mosack, 2006). Attachment theory claims that DV is a result of anger due to desires that are not fulfilled. Bartholomew Horowitz (1991) developed a four-category model of attachment, which is now widely used in the research of domestic abuse. This includes a secure attachment style, displayed as an ease with independence and closeness; fearful, such as those who are socially avoidant; dismissing, those who rebuff attachment; and preoccupied, such as overly dependent and ambivalent types. Fearful and dismissing styles are typified by high attachment avoidance, or discomfort with intimacy associated with a negative other model. Preoccupied and fearful styles are typified by high attachment anxiety, or a fear of abandonment and rejection associated with a negative self model (Corcoran Mallinckrodt, 2000). The theory which underpins the HRP, Duttons (1995) nested ecological approach, incorporates varied aspects of abusive attitudes and behaviour. It explains DV as multi-determined, taking into account the interpersonal context and the characteristics of the abuser. Consequently, this then provides clinical direction to address DV. The model is composed of four levels which all have an effect on each other. The first is the culture, know as the Macrosystem beliefs which stem from ones culture, such as a womens place is in the home; second is the subculture, Exosystem surrounding social structures, such as the influence of peers; third is the family, Microsystem immediate environment, such as the issues that led to the abusive behaviour, and the effects of it; and finally, the individual, Ontogenetic level personal traits, such as learned habits. The Macrosystem incorporates societal and cultural values and beliefs and also has an influence on the Exosystem, Microsystem and Ontogenet ic level. Theories underpinning different offending behaviour programmes have received criticism for their uni-dimensional approach. Consequently, the nested ecological model addresses this by integrating the various facets of abusive attitudes and behaviour. The HRP is based on this model of change and includes elements from the Power and Control wheel (Pence Paymer, 1986), so that perpetrators abusive behaviours can be identified and challenged. The wheel demonstrates how violence is connected to male power and control. According to this model, the abuser maintains control over his partner through constant acts of coercion, intimidation and isolation interspersed with sporadic acts of violence (Healey et al, 1998). The nested ecological model also supports the cognitive-behavioural treatment approach to treatment (e.g., Andrews and Bonta, 1998). Evidence to support Duttons (1995) nested ecological model is provided by OLeary, Smith-Slep OLeary (2007) and Stith, Smith, Penn, Ward Tritt (2004) who revealed how numerous features of the different ecological levels function with each other to predict DV. OLeary et al stated that causal variables for male to female DV included the amount of social support the perpetrator felt they had, expression of anger, and being a witness to family violence. This study emphasises the importance of using an integrated approach from a range of viewpoints to research DV, in particular from ontogenetic and psychological perspectives. The Stith et al study reported that factors associated less with DV are those which are the furthest from the violent act, such as those linked to the exosystem. Conversely, when attempting to understand DV, the features that are most directly associated with the violent context and the individual are most significant. However, a limitation with this finding is that Stith et al did not consider issues that are relevant to the wider society and culture. A single-factor explanation of DV has been criticised for considering perpetrators to be an homogenous set of people and not taking into account the different individual features of the offenders and their use of violence (Graham-Kevan, 2007). Furthermore, it does not clarify why some men are abusive towards their partners, whilst others are not (Dutton, 1995). How the Healthy Relationships Programme addresses Domestic Violence The HRP is a cognitive behavioural intervention that targets moderate to high-risk adult male offenders of intimate partner violence or homicide. The High Intensity HRP has 10 modules containing 62 group sessions, with the option of adding more, and are delivered at a rate of 3-4 per week. There are also a minimum of 10 individual sessions throughout the programme. The goals of the HRP are to reduce the risk of physical and psychological abuse against intimate partners and their children by men who are currently imprisoned. Skills are taught to assist with this, and to establish healthy, non-abusive relationships. The programme deals with attitudes supportive of spousal assault, and provides group members with the skills to change the way in which they behave abusively in their intimate relationships. It is anticipated that the programme will tackle perpetrators with multiple criminogenic needs and a long-standing pattern of abusive behaviour. Both current and past partners of participants are contacted during the programme. They are cautioned that the perpetrators attendance is not an assurance that he will no longer be violent or abusive. Partners are advised of treatment resources available in their community, and offered a victims package to ensure safety. They are also provided with support and general information about domestic abuse.

The Machiavellian Element in Shakespeares Julius Caesar Essay

Machiavelli's Moral and social philosophy, as expressed in the prince, and the way this is related to in the political philosophy, style, and actions of Julius Caesar of Shakespeare's play For the reason that philosophy including all other branches of knowledge, from head to toe, is meant for the welfare and wellbeing of mankind thus the sacred branch of knowledge such as philosophy is all about discovering and investigating the hidden for the further wellbeing of mankind instead of putting the same human beings into the hands of totally inhuman structure based on Machiavelli's moral and social philosophy. I would rather call Machiavelli's moral and social philosophy as mere tactics of treating human being worse than live-stock. If people are still firm on calling Machiavelli’s recommended tactics as philosophy then, better to say, at the end of the day we will end up with egg on our face. Frankly speaking, a rather illogical viewpoint as given by Machiavelli can not be called as philosophy at any cost. Historically, Machiavelli was an Italian political theorist whose book The Prince (1513) describes the achievement and maintenance of power by a determined ruler indifferent to moral considerations. Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527), Italian author and statesman, is one of the outstanding figures of the Renaissance, b. Florence. Machiavelli's best-known work, Il principe [the prince] (1532), describes the means by which a prince may gain and maintain his power. His â€Å"ideal† prince (seemingly modeled on Cesare Borgia) is an amoral and calculating tyrant who would be able to establish a unified Italian state. The last chapter of the work pleads for the eventual liberation of Italy from foreign rule. Interpretations of The Prince... ... Machiavelli, Niccolà ³. 1560; facs. 1969. The Arte of Warre. Trans. Peter Whitehorne. Amsterdam and New York: Da Capo. Shakespeare's Machiavelli, August 5, 2003, http://web.uvic.ca/shakespeare/Library/SLT/ideas/machiavelli2.html "About Machiavelli" Section, August 5, 2003, http://www.niccolo-machiavelli.com/about.html Machiavels, August 5, 2003 http://www.shakespeare.com/queries/display.php?id=3355 "The Qualities of the Prince" by Ron King, August 5, 2003, http://www.geometry.net/detail/philosophers/machiavelli_nicolo.html Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, Review by Edward Tanguay November 15, 1996 http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~tanguay/book50.htm Niccolo Machiavelli, August 5, 2003, http://www.smuc.ac.uk/English/en251/en251_5.htm Concerning Liberality And Meanness, August 5, 2003, http://www.geocities.com/vitomonti2002/juliuscaesar4.html

Evaluate the effectiveness of China’s one child policy Essay

As China realised the need for modernisation, the one child policy was implemented in June 1979 to achieve three main goals: 1. To address the low per capita GNP by increasing the per capita income to $800. 2. To increase or improve the standard of living. 3. To keep China’s total population size from exceeding 1.2 billion by the year 2000. China recognised the easiest way to achieve these goals was by restricting the population growth. That way, there would be a more likely increase in per capita income. Although several attempts have been previously made to control fertility growth, it was little as effective as it was optional and not many complied. However, China’s one child policy was a completely different matter. By accepting the policy, you were eligible for certain privileges and if you reject it, you’ll have to pay a fine. These regulations helped enforce the one couple, one child idea. The one child policy proved to be a great success in urban China but ineffective in rural China. Regardless of their educational attainment or residence, all women generally desired two children. The one child policy worked best in urban China because of the strong organisation control and social transformations that changed the function of children and reduced the preference for sons. In an urban sample, in both Hebei and Shaanxi, the sex of the first child is insignificant. This lack of sex preference effect was the main ingredient for success of the one child policy. However, this was not the case in rural China where villagers were in favour of traditional preferences for sons. Although the implementation of the one  child policy caused a decline in rural fertility rate from about five to 2.4 children by making farmers realise they needed high quality labourers and not a large number, most rejected the one child certificate. With the majority going on to have a second birth, 22% having a third birth and some having a fourth or fifth birth. These â€Å"hazards† in the one child policy were mainly caused by the first birth being a girl and living with parents in law. But overall, China’s one child policy is an effective means of fertility control, despite the minor violation in rural areas. The failure of the one child policy in rural China may be a blessing in disguise. When the generation of parents of single children reach retirement age, the state will face more financial burdens than it does now. So perhaps the Chinese peasants have saved China from an economic disaster. The current per capita income in China is around $800, the living conditions have definitely improved as most Chinese now enjoy a high standard of living and China’s population by the year 2000 was recorded to be around 1.26 billion which slightly exceeded the set 1.2 billion mark. The one child policy was a success in that it achieved all its set goals. Bibliography Longman Science 3, BILALI BOOT COLELLA HEFFERNAN MILLER, Pearson Education Australia, 2000

Morality and Monkey Essay

Monkey is created by the author as an individual entity that resembles the characteristic of an ordinary human being. It is quite obvious that the audience would better understand the idea hidden in the literature if the characteristics of the protagonist are closely related to those of the reader. In Monkey , the author carefully parallels the traits of Monkey to the lives of human beings. Then why does the author portray so much resemblance between Monkey and human? The author’s approach in attracting the audience by using symbolism successfully accomplishes the intention in the novel. All humans feel a need, a hunger for the things that benefit their way of living. Monkey easily symbolizes many ordinary humans in this world. Monkey’s life represents a journey that reflects the lives of most human beings. From the beginning of the novel,Monkey expresses hunger that is overpowered by greed. Similar to human beings,Monkey first seeks knowledge, then power, and finally enlightenment. Monkey’s arrogance brought by greed is displayed when he proclaims, â€Å"why do you not bow down to me as your king? † . Monkey’s desire to acquire more than the apparent limit is more understandable to the audience, because human beings are able to empathize with this greed felt by Monkey. All people fight with human nature to alter the natural phenomenon that occurs in life. In comparison, Monkey struggles to alter nature by demanding immortality. Human beings struggle to change nature in order to achieve higher status in society or personal satisfaction. Monkey seeks immortality to prevent nature from taking its course so that he may be able to rule his kingdom forever. Readers are able to better understand Monkey’s adventure to find the impossible in life. Man looks for opportunities to expand his potentials just as Monkey strives to increase his powers. During the course of life, there are obstacles that hinder the path to acquiring the impossible powers. The forces of good and evil goes up against each other throughout the novel. The tension between good and evil comes natural throughout the book just as human beings experience hardship in everyday lives. Another similarity portrayed between Monkey’s world and human civilization are the values and the customs they hold. Chinese moral.

Objective Relations Theory

Projective Identification copyright 1996 Hannah Fox, CSW, BCD All rights reserved – may not be reproduced without permission of Hannah Fox ([email  protected] com) This document can be found at: http://www. object-relations. com This presentation will explore several concepts and techniques within the Object Relations theory of family therapy which, if understood, provides a framework for looking at couples and families. Before talking about this approach to family therapy, I would like to explain what object relations theory is all about.Object Relations Theory was originated in England by a group of British psychoanalysts, including Klein, Balint, Fairburn, Winnicott, and Guntrip. Object relations theory was a break from Freud's drive model, and differs from it as follows: Freud's model held that a newborn infant is driven by animal instincts, such as hunger, thirst, and pleasure, but cannot relate to others. Relationships with others only develop later in the course of sa tisfying those needs. In this sense, Freud's model considers relationships to be secondary.In contrast, object relations theory maintains that the infant can relate to others at a very early age and that relationships with others are, therefore, primary. The drive to attach oneself to an object is considered to be the major motivating force. Since we are talking about object relations theory, this is a good time to ask what an object is. In object relations theory, the word object is used with a very specific meaning. It's not literally a physical person, but an internal mental structure that is formed throughout early development.This mental structure is built through a series of experiences with significant others through a psychic process called introjection. Because an infant's earliest experiences are usually with its mother, she is usually the first internal object formed by the infant. Eventually, the father and other significant people also become internalized objects. Intro jection, the process of creating internal mental objects, leads to another process called splitting. Splitting occurs because the infant cannot tolerate certain feelings such as rage and longing, which occur in all normal development.As a result, the infant has to split off parts of itself and repress them. What happens to those repressed split-off parts? They are dealt with through another important process, called projective identification. Projective identification itself is a very specific part of object relations theory. It is a defense mechanism which was conceptualized by Melanie Klein in 1946, having evolved from her extensive study and work with children. According to Klein, projective identification consists of splitting off parts of the self, projecting them into another person, and then identifying with them in the other person.For example, the earliest relationship the infant has with its mother is feeding and touching, but the mother is not always able to respond quick ly enough to the infant's need. Since the natural rage and longing the infant feels at such times are intolerable, to survive these feelings the infant â€Å"splits them off† and represses them from its consciousness. The â€Å"split off†feelings can be thought of as other parts of the self (ego). When such splitting takes place, the infant is free of the rage but has placed that part of itself inside the mother.To make itself whole again it must identify with the mother. The mother may or may not allow herself to become the cntainer for the infant's negative feelings. Even if she doesn't, the projective identification still occurs. The above process begins in the first half year of life, known as the paranoid-schizoid position. It is characterized by an ability to distinguish good feelings from bad, but an inability to distinguish the mother from the self. Depending on how consistent the mothering is, the infant may or may not progress to a higher level of development known as the depressive position.In the depressive position, which starts at about eight months of age, the child takes back its bad feelings from the mother and separates from her. The mother is now seen as a separate object, with both good and bad feelings of her own. The infant is aware of its own good and bad feelings. For a child to reach this level of development, the earlier mothering must be consistent. The mother must have accepted most of the child's projected feelings. A child who reaches the depressive position will, in adulthood, be capable of experiencing, at best, such feelings as empathy, or will at least become neurotic.In contrast, if the mothering is not consistent, the child can't take back its projected feelings and splitting continues both inside and outside the child. It remains in the paranoid-schizoid position or, at best, a precarious form of the depressive position. This type of development is associated with borderline personalities. In the above infant- mother example, the repressed parts of the self, if unresolved, will remain repressed into adulthood. Those parts will govern the choice of marital partner and the nature of marital relationships, and by extension the nature of relationships with children.By the time the couple or family come to therapy the projective identification process has likely progressed to the point of being obvious to the therapist, and will be seen in the members' behavior toward each other. This is usually not so in individual therapy because it often takes time to build the transference relationship with the therapist. So what does this mean for the therapist? What does a therapist have to know in order to work with a family, using the object relations approach? The therapist needs to be trained in individual developmental heory from infancy to aging and to understand that the internal object world is built up in a child, modified in an adult and re-enacted in the family. The family has a developmental life cycle of its own, and as it goes through its series of tasks from early nurturing of its new members, to emancipation of its adolescents, to taking care of its aging members, the family's adaptation is challenged at every stage by unresolved issues in the adult members' early life cycle. Conflicts within any of its individual family members may threaten to disrupt the adaption previously achieved.If any member is unable to adapt to new development, pathology, like projective identification, becomes a stumbling block to future healthy development. The clinical approach is to develop, with the family, an understanding of the nature and origins of their current interactional difficulties, starting from their experience in the here- and-now of the therapeutic sessions, and exploring the unconscious intrapsychic and interpersonal conflicts that are preventing further healthy development. Interpretation and insight are thus the agents of family change.By uncovering the projective ide ntifications that take place among family members, and having individuals take back their split-off parts, members can be freed to continue healthy development. If further therapy is indicated, individual therapy would be a recommendation. Symptom reduction in individuals is not necessarily a goal here. In fact, individual family members may become more symptomatic as projective identificationsare taken back and the members become more anxious. To do this, the therapist needs the following four capabilities: . The ability to provide a â€Å"holding environment†for the family – a place which is consistent – so that eventually the family comes to feel comfortable enough to be themselves in the presence of the therapist. 2. An ability to understand the â€Å"theme†of each session, so that a broad theme can be identified over the course of treatment. 3. An ability to interpret the latent content of patients' manifest statements. 4. An understanding of unconsc ious processes like transference and countertransference.Given those tools, it is the therapist's job to uncover the projective identifications in the family that prevent the children from having a healthy development. Once these projections are uncovered, and the split-off parts given back to the family members they belong to, children are freer to continue healthy development. Having introduced projective identification, I'd like to show how this process operates later in life-in couples and families-and is a framework for doing couple and family therapy. I'm going to present two cases-one of a couple and one of a family-to show how projective identification works.A male patient of mine with little ambition fell in love with a woman who subsequently pushed him to be ambitious. As it turned out, the woman had been repressing her own ambition under pressure from a father who didn't believe women should work. This woman was quite intelligent and obtained a professional degree, yet sh e chose to stifle her ambition in order to please her father. She remained dependent on her father, both emotionally and financially. The husband, my patient, was a professional but quite unambitious. His family's philosophy was that one is lucky to have a job and pay the bills.His father had held the same low paying job for twenty years although he, too, had a professional degree. So why did these two people get married? Since it was unacceptable for her to be ambitious, the wife needed someone to contain those feelings for her. My patient was the ideal object because, although he had an inner ambition, he had no parental support for these strivings. Therefore, he was predisposed to accept and collude in his wife's projection. What is the effect of projective identification when a couple has children?The following example shows how parents use their children as objects. Fern was a woman in her second marriage with two adolescent children. When Fern was a child, her mother favored h er brother. The message she received from her mother was that men were important and had to be taken care of, while women were stupid and born to serve men. Both of Fern's husbands agreed with her mother's philosophy, so Fern spent most of her married life serving them. When the family came to see me, both children were having emotional problems. The son was a heavy user of pot and cocaine.His sister had emotional and learning problems in school. Fern had projected into her son that males were special and needed to be taken care of. It's not hard to see why the son colluded with his mother. The rewards of accepting her projected feelings were too hard to resist, so when he reached adolescence he satisfied his excessive dependency needs with drugs. The message Fern's daughter received was that she was unimportant and stupid. Why did Fern project these feelings onto her daughter? Fern grew up unable to develop her own career goals because her other ignored her wishes to go to college. For Fern to feel sufficiently competent and achieve some career success, she had to get rid of feelings that she was stupid and unimportant. So she projected those feelings on to her daughter and was then able to start a small business. To avoid being totally rejected by her mother, the daughter colluded by remaining stupid and unimportant to herself. Fern's reenactment with her daughter of her mother's relationship with her is a form of projective identification called â€Å"identification with the aggressor,†because Fern is acting as if she is her own mother and her daughter is her (when she was a child).Fern's relationship to her son is also similar to the relationship Fern's mother had to Fern's brother. Because Fern is treating her children so differently, when they grow up they will have very different views of this family. This explains why, in therapy, siblings often talk about the same family very differently. Notice how unresolved feelings from childhood, which Fern split off and repressed, greatly affected her relationship with both children. What do you think is going on in her second marriage? Now I will present an actual transcript of part of a session I recently had with this family.As you will see, it illustrates the process of projective identification and will serve as a basis for further discussion. T: Fern, I wonder, when Donald was talking about being like Roberta and John asked him a question how did you feel? F: What do you mean how did I feel? T: When John asked Donald when he figured out that he was like Roberta and Donald said just now. J: How do you feel about him saying just now. T: And you changed the subject and I wondered what you were feeling. F: I don't know. I T: Donald owned up to some feelings that he was like his father and that part of what he saw in Roberta was like himself.F: Donald is definitely part of D: No but what she's saying is that you changed the subject. That is why she's wondering if you have some feeli ngs about that. T: Exactly. You seemed to have moved away from what was going on here. John was talking to Donald R: She doesn't want us to be like our father. T: Maybe that was upsetting to you? R: He wasn't good to her. D: Subconsciously maybe. It's deep but it's there. F: Well, I don't like Martin, naturally. It's true. I don't like him – I don't think he's a nice person. R: You don't like him at all? D: She loves him but doesn't like himF: I loved him but I never liked him as a person. I never thought he was a good person; that he really cared about me, that he took care of me, that he was ever concerned with me. I remember a couple of things that – I remember having a bloody nose one night when I was pregnant and he went out to play racketball and left me alone. Things like that – He was mean to me – he had no compassion for me. D: That's one thing, I'm not like my father. F: I'm not saying – I'm trying to say I see certain characteristics of their father in them. T: How does that make you feel?F: How does that make me feel? I don't know. I guess part of it, not too good because I would rather them be above that, that is, above that anger, why can't they rise above that anger. I don't want them to be like that because it didn't get Martin anyplace in life. J: I have a very deep question. F: I don't know if I want to answer it. J: You may not but how can you find that with Roberta and Donald being so much alike in prsonality, like Martin, how do you separate Donald's being like Martin and accepting it from Roberta and saying Roberta is just like her father and not accepting it?F: Because Donald never directed his anger at me as a person, as a human being. In other words he never – he might have been angry but he never said to me – he never was mean to me, whereas Roberta has been mean to me, attacked me as a person, Donald never attacked me as a person. T: Donald attacked himself as a person. D: Hmm. T: By t aking drugs. F: But he never attacked me as a person. D: Never, I'm not a mean person. I don't have that mean streak in me. T: You sure? F: You may have it in you D: I don't have a mean streak. F: Sure, everyone T: Who did you direct that meanness to?Roberta directs it out to her mother and who did you direct it to? D: I direct it to her. T: No R: No you directed it at yourself. D: Myself, yeah – I'm mean to myself. F: You were destructive to yourself. T: So what D: But that's different from being destructive to other human beings. F: No, maybe you would have been better off being mean to me or somebody else. Or to your father. R: Let's get back to Uncle John's question. J: No this is part of the answer. D: Yeah – I'm mean to myself. I still am. But I don't destroy myself with anything – with any kind of substances, but I still am.R: What do you mean, you still are? D: I'm hard on myself, critical of myself. R: See, you would never think that of Donald because h e walks around like he's above the world. He does. T: But why would somebody walk – D: But I've been working on that very heavily now T: But why would someone D: That's the way I am; it's the way I am. T: Why would someone walk around like that. D: It's very basic – when I was on drugs and everything like that and I'm fully aware of it, aware that I'm conceited and like I have that air about me – I'm fully aware of it.When I was on drugs I had that part to me but it wasn't as strong as it is now. T: You weren't aware of it then? D: I wasn't really in control of the fact that I control my conceitedness now – I choose to put that on because I have nothing, I have nothing else now. T: Right D: It seems it's like my only defense, to be arrogant and to be conceited because I don't have anything else to back me up so I figure that wall. R: Why do you need – I don't need anything. D: Roberta – because when I was on the drugs and everything like tha t, it was a great wall for me to keep everybody out.Now I want everybody to think big things. Discussion Now let's look at the latent content of this session and identify the projective identifications. Fern was angry at Roberta and not at Donald — why? As John pointed out with his question, Fern saw Roberta and Donald very differently, because of her projective identifications into them. Fern saw Roberta as bad and stupid, just as her mother viewed her when she was a child. She put all her badness and negative feelings into Roberta. Roberta then acted out Fern's feelings by being emotionally disturbed and acting stupid.Her emotional problems exacerbated what had been a genuine perceptual impairment. Because of her projective identification, Fern saw Donald as the good son who needed special attention and care, which was what Fern had seen between her own mother and her brother. Because Donald was not fully accepted by his mother, especially for those qualities that were like his natural father, he acted out his mother's feelings. He was good to her but repressed the rejected parts, turning them against himself by secretly taking drugs. Yet, his mother continued to hold him in high regard, even after his habit had been found out.What Fern did was re-create the family constellation in which she had grown up. Because both children were carrying out their mother's inner life, they were unable to grow and develop their own healthy structures. The next step in therapy was to get Fern to take back the split-off parts of herself: the devaluing of her daughter and the overvaluing of her son. This should help the children take back the part of themselves which they split off and repressed. In subsequent sessions, Fern and I explored what it was like growing up with her mother.She explained that her mother told her that she was stupid and that her brother was special. Fern's daughter told Fern that she was doing the same thing as her mother and that the daughter felt stupid. Fern responded that she had never meant to treat her daughter as stupid. She also realized that her son had many problems and was not so special. In doing so, Fern reclaimed her split-off parts, freeing her daughter to continue a healthier development. Her son was able to leave home and become more independent.