title: "On my way here, I passed a man with a scab": understanding a case of severe obsessive-compulsive disorder.
abstract: The author describes the psychoanalysis of "John" to illustrate her view of the psychodynamic organization of obsessive-compulsive disorder. She begins with Freud's recognition of the patient's sadism and of the patient's terror of the oedipal situation, which led to the regression to the anal-erotic level of psychic organization. The author then calls upon ideas from contemporary British object relations theory to describe the damage to the objects and to the sense of self in the individual's inner world that occurs as a further defense when overwhelming danger is experienced. This integrated conceptualization is clearly illustrated in John's clinical material.
authors.affiliation: jacquelinehaft@optonline.net
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Haft
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000628:therapy*; D009813:Oedipus Complex; D011575:Psychoanalytic Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D012043:Regression, Psychology