cathect
A therapist helps a patient cathect positive feelings toward a childhood memory.
Verb: * To invest mental or emotional energy in a person, object, or idea. This term originates from psychoanalytic theory, describing the process by which psychic energy (libido) is attached to or focused on something.
This is a specialized, academic verb, primarily used in psychology, psychoanalysis, and related fields. It describes a conscious or unconscious psychological process. * The object of the verb (what is being cathected) is typically a person, a memory, a fantasy, or a symbolic object. * It is often used in its past participle form "cathected" to describe something that has already received this emotional investment.
- The patient began to cathect the therapist with feelings she had for her father.
- In his grief, he cathected the old family home with immense significance.
- The child's teddy bear is a highly cathected object, providing essential comfort.
- Psychoanalysts study how individuals cathect certain ideas or symbols.
- Decathect: The opposite process; to withdraw emotional or psychic investment from a person or object.
- To move on, she needed to decathect from the failed relationship.
- Hypercathexis: An excessive investment of psychic energy.
- The concept is central to understanding object relations in psychoanalytic theory.
- Cathexis (noun): The state or instance of being cathected; the psychic energy itself.
- The symbol held a powerful cathexis for the members of the group.
- Cathectic (adjective): Pertaining to cathexis.
- The cathectic process was evident in her attachment to the idea.
- Invest (with emotion/energy)
- Charge (with emotion)
- Attach (emotionally)
- Libidinize (a more specific psychoanalytic synonym)
- Decathect
- Withdraw (emotional investment)
- Detach
A therapist helps a patient cathect positive feelings toward a childhood memory.
- inject with libidinal energy