Symbiotic psychosis and the need for fame
Sperber, M.A.
Psychoanalytic Review 61(4): 517-534
1974
ISSN/ISBN: 0033-2836 PMID: 4453586 Document Number: 5817
This paper attempts to synthesize Tartakoff's concept of the Nobel Prize complex (a constellation of personality traits found in some achievement-oriented neurotics) with the symbiotic syndrome which Mahler noted among certain psychotic patients. The performance-oriented symbiotic syndrome formulated in this paper is found in patients whose pathology ranges from the normal to the psychotic. The familial constellation involved in this performance-oriented symbiosis consists of an obessive, successful father; a depressed, hysterical, unfulfilled mother; and a child who is made to take the father's place in the household. The mother exploits the child by offering attention only when he achieves or performs in such a way as to fulfill her narcissistic strivings and bolster her self-esteem. The father is often involved in a similar symbiotic relationship with his own mother and therefore sanctions his wife and son's dyadic relationship.
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