Überlegungen zur Regression

In this paper from 1980, the author addresses the concept of regression from a primarily ego-psychological and interactional perspective. Thus, Freud’s aspect of topical regression moves into the center of consideration. Regression appears here as a revival of outdated functional levels and forms of organization of mental experience and behavior. For Loewald, this was not just about retrograde development but also about a reorganization of the psychological material and the connection between different levels of mental organization. In this process the bilateral regression of the patient and the therapist has a restitutive function. This represents opportunities for the individual, for the therapeutic relationship and for society.