Dead Links, Living Links: Vitalization and the Process of Object Creation (Rachel Sopher, LCSW., New York) (17 May 2026)

Sun, 17 May 2026 15:00:00 GMT

Abstract

Contemporary psychoanalytic writers have cautioned against reifying internal objects (Aron, 1996; Cooper, 2010; Davies, 2006; Seligman, 2018) and have emphasized the emergent qualities of the internal world (Bass, 2001). This paper extends these perspectives by conceptualizing internal objects as fundamentally process-oriented rather than fixed structures. Psychological development is proposed to involve a lifelong capacity to generate new internal objects through ongoing investment in both the external world and the internal object world. When development proceeds with minimal obstruction, this capacity is supported by the internalization of a “good enough” and vitalizing object that facilitates the creation of flexible internal links. These links allow individuals to imbue experience with symbolic meaning and form new connections even when associations are partial or indirect. When this generative process is disrupted, internal links may become rigid and associated with experiences of psychological deadness. Reframing the “good object” as a vitalizing process highlights its role in sustaining psychological vitality and internal growth, with implications for clinical work aimed at restoring generative internal processes.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:

1. Define the concept of flexible internal links, and describe how this concept can be used to assess patients’ internal object systems and capacities for vitality in experience.

2. Apply clinical interventions that support and validate patients’ movement toward their leading-edge aspirations.

3. Describe the developmental origins and clinical manifestations of rigid internal links, and explain their relationship to experiences of psychological deadness or diminished vitality.

4. Identify conditions that support the development and maintenance of the good object process, and recognize clinical indicators that this process has been disrupted or inhibited.

Biography

Rachel Sopher, LCSW, is Faculty and Supervisor at the National Institute for the

Psychotherapies Training Institute (NIP) and the National Training Program (NTP); she serves on the Executive Committee and as Faculty and Supervisor at the Stephen Mitchell Center for Relational Studies. She is Senior Editor of Psychoanalytic Perspectives and has written and presented widely on issues of aliveness and deadness in the transference-countertransference. Rachel is co-editor, with Amy Schwartz-Cooney, of the collection Vitalization in Psychoanalysis and maintains a private practice in New York City.

References

Caflisch, J. (2020). “When reparation is felt to be impossible”: Persecutory guilt and breakdowns in thinking and dialogue about race. Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 30(5), 578–594.

Davies, J. (2023). “Reawakening desire: Shame, mourning, analytic love, and psychoanalytic imagination. Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 33(3), 285-301.

Schoen, S. (2023). The patient’s experience of the analyst’s physicality: It’s what’s on the outside that counts. Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 33(2), 240–255.

Schwartz Cooney, A. (2018). Vitalizing enactment: A relational exploration. Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 28(3), 340–354.

MCPP Spring Banquet at Mediterrano in Ann Arbor (6 Jun 2026)

Sat, 06 Jun 2026 22:00:00 GMT

Please join us for a wonderful three course meal to celebrate the year together.

Presentations Will Rsume in September with Stephen Hartman, Ph.D (New York) (20 Sep 2026)

Sun, 20 Sep 2026 15:00:00 GMT

Presentations will resume Septemeber 20th with Stephen Hartman. We have another exciting year of speakers such as Daniel Shaw, Nancy McWilliams and Joyce Slochower. Dates and location are in the works.

MCPP upcoming events

Dead Links, Living Links: Vitalization and the Process of Object Creation (Rachel Sopher, LCSW., New York) (17 May 2026)

MCPP Spring Banquet at Mediterrano in Ann Arbor (6 Jun 2026)

Presentations Will Rsume in September with Stephen Hartman, Ph.D (New York) (20 Sep 2026)