Projection

A work in progress by Dr. Suzanne LaCombe, March 2009.

Coming soon to a theatre near you.

Okay, okay, here's a hint. It has to do with implicit memories being triggered. 

When we first lay down an implicit memory in the brain, it isn't time stamped like regular memories. For example, you probably remember visiting a coffee shop in the last month. Yet, it is unlikely you remember your first feelings of being soothed by your mother (i.e. an implicit memory).

That's because the coffee shop memory is organized in the brain differently from how an implicit memory is stored.

Problem is, when we unconsciously access an implicit memory in the present, we tend to attribute it to the environment. We project it onto our current circumstances and those people around us. You see, implicit memories give us the feeling that they are real and arise from the present circumstances.

Ever hear folks say that women tend to marry their fathers and men tend to marry their mothers? This is a classic example of projection.

Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.

Carl Jung

External Resource

Bonnie Burton is a therapy client. She's also a gifted writer. In this article, Bonnie describes her personal struggles in therapy as she finds herself projecting anger towards her therapist. Her insight and growth from facing herself honestly is what really wowed me.

Therapists who haven't done their own therapy look out!

Here's the article: Another Session in Confession

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