Individuation-Attachment and Suicide Trajectory: A Developmental Guide FOR the Clinician

Abstract

This article applies a two-axis model of human development to the problem of suicide trajectory. The two-axis approach represents a fundamental shift in the way Eriksonian stages are viewed. Typical interpretations of Erikson suggest healthy development is achieved by resolving each stage crisis horizontally in favor of the syntonic as opposed to the dystonic ego quality. A two-axis view proposes that an organism begins each stage at the negative or dystonic position in reaction to the stage-initiating life event and must move ahead vertically to achieve the positive syntonic quality and the attaining of a stage-specific syntonic equilibrium.

We are suggesting that successful development involves not the avoidance of the negative or dystonic ego qualities at each stage but the very plunging into each of them as the natural sequela of the preceding life event. Successful development involves working through a stage vertically to attain the respective stage-specific positive or syntonic ego position, followed by forward regression to the next advanced stage. The logic of this developmental axis is simply that the loosening of one's defenses (i.e., greater permeability of walls) should occur in conjunction with the strengthening of one's ego (i.e., greater definition of boundaries).

Incongruent resolution of the individuation-attachment dilemma results in “enmeshment” (attachment to the external world without individuation), or in “disengagement” (remaining detached even after becoming sufficiently individuated). Extreme distress can result from the attempt to simultaneously apply enmeshed and disengaged styles to cope with the overwhelming challenges of the new life stage, creating a potentially suicidal level of stress.