character|Reich – INTEGRA CPD

Character Formation: Reich’s diagram of ‘turning against self’ (1995)

Michael - Handouts — Fri, 03 Mar 1995 00:00:00 +0000

This is Reich's diagram of an impulse 'turning back against itself'. This diagram is easier to understand if we illustrate it with terms drawn from Transactional Analysis. Turning against the self in character formation implies chronic internal conflict, based on internalisation of an external conflict and - it could be argued - in some ways 'identification with the aggressor'. Johnson emphasizes internalisation and introjection as particular features of the masochistic character structures (where it is indeed most obvious), but because turning against the self leads to internal splitting and unconsciousness, with the turning itself being unconscious, we can recognise internalisation and introjection as present in all processes of character formation, with all character structures.

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Character Formation – 5 Steps (1995)

Michael - Handouts — Fri, 03 Mar 1995 00:00:00 +0000

This is a slightly reformulated version of Stephen Johnson's 5 steps of character formation. These five steps are the basic process by which developmental, relational injury occurs and leads to 'turning against the self' and chronic character formation. While rooted in Reich's character analysis, Johnson has drawn from and integrated many other developmental theories (Klein, object relations, ego psychology, self psychology), and come up with a basic typology similar to Reich's character structures. But whatever the age of the child, its developmental stage and the nature of the wounding, we can conceive of the internalisation process inherent in character formation in these 5 steps (essentially similar to Reich's layers), and present within each manifestation of character. Character is the frozen landscape of traumatic (not 'good-enough') development.

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Character Formation – 5 Steps (early version 1992)

Michael - Handouts — Fri, 10 Jan 1992 00:00:00 +0000

This handout combines a more detailed version of 5 steps of character formation as formulated by Stephen Johnson (see ""Character Styles"" 1994), but based on Wilhelm Reich and Alexander Lowen, with Reich's diagram of an impulse turning back against itself. This diagram is easier to understand if we illustrate it with terms drawn from Transactional Analysis. This handout was later revised and updated.

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Character Formation – Primary, Secondary, Facade (early version 1992)

Michael - Handouts — Fri, 10 Jan 1992 00:00:00 +0000

This handout combines Reich's diagram of a blocked and repressed impulse (the 'turning-against-the-self') with the three layers of character armour. In this handout the three layers are explained in some detail (top half of page). This diagram is easier to understand if we illustrate it with terms drawn from Transactional Analysis (bottom half of page). This handout was later revised and updated, without the three layers of character armour (which later became a more dubious concept, encouraging idealisation of the 'core').

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