Recovering the Father in Mind and Flesh: History, Triadic Functioning, and Developmental Implications

Abstract

This paper aims to restore the father and paternal function to their rightful place alongside the mother and maternity in order to counter the prevailing matricentric, dyadic bias in psychoanalytic theory and technique. The author contends that both the symbolic and the actual, flesh-and-blood father are necessary to optimize his child's development. The paternal function inevitably operates in a triadic matrix; thirdness is always psychically in existence-with the father ever present in the mother's unconscious mind-and the paternal third is necessary to open up symbolic space. As an embodied other, the actual father, both as a separating agent and an attracting object, is called upon to recognize his child's otherness throughout the inescapable father-child rivalries, neglect, and desire.

The Missing Father Function in Psychoanalytic Theory and Technique: The Analyst’s Internal Couple and Maturing Intimacy

“…In fully appreciating our patients’ internal worlds and in formulating clinical technique that promotes mature forms of psychic development, it is insufficient to focus exclusively on the mother–child dyad, even though this dyad is certainly necessary for establishing a secure developmental foundation. Moreover, while recent theorizing has sought to recover the missing, lost father (Diamond ; Green ; Perelberg ), there has been a developmental lag in clinical theory, so that addressing the issue of the symbolic father as distinct from the actual father , as well as the respective impact on psychic development, is often omitted in clinical settings. This paper attempts to speak to this omission prevalent in both clinical discussion and theorizing, while specifying that paternal functioning is implicit in every analysis.…”

“…Actual, flesh‐and‐blood fathers themselves have seldom been portrayed as real people, and their tangible impact has most often been studied only when there was paternal absence, neglect, abuse, or other overtly negative dynamics. Over the last half century, the impact of both the flesh‐and‐blood father and the symbolic father , as well as of the paternal function itself, has more likely been missing or lost (Diamond , ; Perelberg ).…”

“…Before considering the specific role of the father and paternal function within psychoanalytic treatment, I will briefly review the evolution of the Father as a concept throughout three historical waves within psychoanalytic theorizing that have led to a more nuanced understanding, beginning with Freud's seminal writings (see Diamond for a more comprehensive discussion). In short, these historical contributions demonstrate the significance of the father's actual and symbolic functioning within triadic reality and the familial context—including the mother's vital role in establishing and maintaining the paternal function.…”

“…The question of how the father's actual involvement impacts both his symbolic function and the paternal representation remains unanswered; this has become a source of considerable controversy (Diamond ). Moreover, given that the roles of fathers and mothers are in flux, new challenges arise in the context of increased paternal involvement and modified familial (and economic) structures, including single‐ and same‐sex parenting systems.…”

“…In general, however, third‐wave theorists essentially agree that the father today is a vital organizer of mental life by dint of serving as a significant figure in his child's development—as both a dyadic and a triadic object; as a fundamental internal object or intrapsychic representation (the internal father ); and as a central figure in the mind's basic triadic and oedipal structure. It is only in each unique patient's clinical analysis that the complex processes involved in differentiating the father as function from the person of the flesh‐and‐blood, biological, or historical father, can be ferreted out (Diamond ).…”