Cognitive and interactive aspects of splitting

The author discusses splitting, the segregation of multiple inner schemata of self and others, from the points of view of cognitive structure, cognitive process, anad interpersonal transaction. A case example illustrates how one borderline patient shifted fluidly during therapy among four isolated and sometimes incompatible representations of the doctor-patient relationship. The author concludes that therapists working with borderline patients must be aware of atypical transference patterns and may have to introduce, as a special nuance of therapy, work to stabilize patients' realistic self- and therapist images before offering interpretations.