Dissertation Abstract

Through the Looking Glass: Thought Transference and Projective Identification

By Mikita Brottman, Ph.D.

Since the 1970s, the notions of thought-transference and magical thinking have been out of fashion in psychoanalysis. My dissertation seeks to investigate whether it is possible that these phenomena have been incorporated under the more scientifically "acceptable" theory of projective identification.
My project in the dissertation, then, is to adumbrate the implications of the psychoanalytic notion of projective identification, with particular reference to the ways in which this concept can be considered to be a "doorway" from the traditional realm of psychoanalysis into the realm of the occult and paranormal. In particular, I want to consider the connections between projective identification and mind-reading, clairvoyance, and other well-known paranormal phenomena.
The dissertation takes the form of a historical survey, based on scholarly descriptions and conceptualizations of past events. The resulting data is analyzed from a historical perspective, and connected to the social and cultural development of psychoanalysis.