ABSTRACT
T he minimal and mild groups differ little in impairment of functioning, but there is a chasm of difference from the perspective of ego development and object relations. Although they function well, the 13 patients in the mild group have not separated from the symbiotic relationship with the mother, and therefore they have not achieved whole object relations. Consequently, they re quire pathologic defenses against separation anxiety and abandon ment depression to maintain an entirely adequate level of func tioning. W ithin this mild impairment group, we were able to select two subgroups (A, with six patients, and B, with seven pa tients) based on the intensity of that need for pathologic defenses as well as on the degree to which there had been consolidation of the self, i.e., the degree to which the patients had increased the capacity to assert themselves, to regulate self-esteem, and to activate their wishes in reality.
