ABSTRACT
The techniques used throughout this book were developed by Davanloo (1980, 1990, 2000) and evolved from his understanding of the psychoanalytic theory of neurosis (Fenichel, 1945). In particular, Davanloo based his strategic interventions on Freud’s second theory of anxiety (Freud, 1926d [1925]. This theory suggests that anxiety is a signal to the ego, warning of danger or trauma; “danger” here is any feeling, impulse, or action that could threaten the primary bond with caretakers. In other words, any feeling, impulse, or action that results in separation from a loved one, or the loss of his or her love, is experienced as threatening, evokes anxiety, and is consequently avoided, giving rise to intrapsychic conflict between expressive and repressive forces within the psyche.
