Holding Envy: Response to Gerhardt’s “Libidinal and Destructive Envy”

Abstract

Envy occupies a special place in analytic lore, and this discussion takes up several themes related to this phenomenon. I review and comment on the competing evolutionary and intersubjective developmental theories Julie Gerhardt puts forth in her paper, offering one possible integration. In addition, I explore the impact of envy on the analytic field, and specifically the vulnerabilities and strains the analyst may encounter in holding and managing envy in herself and in the patient; and advocate attention to self-care and maintenance of analytic authority in the face of intense envious dynamics in treatments.

Keywords:

• aggression
• analytic authority
• envy
• evolution
• innate
• intersubjective
• reactive
• self-care
• witness

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rachel Sopher

Rachel Sopher, LCSW, is on the faculty of the Stephen Mitchell Center for Relational Studies and a member of the education committee at NIP, where she also co-chairs the annual conference. Rachel is senior editor of Psychoanalytic Perspectives and maintains a private practice in New York.