title: The self as a transitional object: its relationship to narcissism and homosexuality.
abstract: Men with significant narcissistic and homosexual trends can show a tendency to experience a part of the self as a transitional object. Specifically, these men regard themselves as dolls. Excerpts from three psychoanalytic cases are offered to demonstrate this clinical finding. It is believed that this occurrence represents a significant arrest in the development of the self. The recognition, interpretation, and reduction of this transitional phenomenon constitutes a significant therapeutic experience in the analyses of these men.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004325:Dreams; D004532:Ego; D006716:Homosexuality / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D007062:Identification, Psychological; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009289:Narcissism; D009769:Object Attachment; D010333:Paternal Deprivation; D011385:Projection; D011575:Psychoanalytic Therapy; D011606:Psychosexual Development; D012649:Self Concept; D014167:Transference, Psychology