title: Intellectualization and its lookalikes.
abstract: The present paper offers a conceptual review and clarification of the theoretical construct of intellectualization, a popular concept both in the psychoanalytic literature and in the culture at large. It is shown that in the contemporary literature, intellectualization is inconsistently conceptualized. A review of the history of the concept reveals two distinct threads of meaning, which are developed and clarified. Intellectualization can best refer either to a variant of the more basic defense of isolation of affect, or to the psychological translation of emotional issues into intellectual terms. Several clinical misunderstandings of intellectualization are presented in a cautionary light.
authors.affiliation: 215 Wyckoff Street #1, Brooklyn, NY 11217. E-mail: kyletarnold@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Kyle
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Arnold
mesh_terms: D032882:Comprehension; D003469:Culture; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D004644:Emotions; D006801:Humans; D011574:Psychoanalytic Theory; D011575:Psychoanalytic Therapy; D013850:Thinking