Internalization, After Loewald: A Powerful and Clinically Useful Concept for Psychodynamics

Her reminiscence of Hans Loewald as a supervisor makes the author indebted to his teaching, and to a central concept that Loewald elaborated in his theory, which was internalization. In creating the functioning mind this fundamental process combines object relations, drive theory, self-concepts and the cultural history of an individual. This concept has been key to analytic understanding of attitudes toward the female body and gender studies. A case vignette, presented in 1988 by the author at a WNE symposium in honor of Hans's 80th birthday, is here elaborated further to demonstrate the role of internalization.