Shrinkle #43 · Classic idea · 5 letters
Splitting
Splitting is seeing people, or yourself, as all good or all bad, with little room for the mixed middle. Someone can be adored one day and written off the next after a single disappointment.
In the room
In therapy, a person might swing between praising and criticising the therapist, and the work involves slowly learning to hold good and bad feelings together.
Something a client might say
“Last week he was perfect; after one argument I decided he was awful.”
An illustrative line, not a real client.
Online vs in the room
Online, 'splitting' is often used as a label or insult aimed at someone thought to have a personality disorder. In therapy it describes a common defence anyone can fall into under stress, seeing things in all or nothing terms.
Where it comes from
The idea of splitting is closely associated with Melanie Klein and object relations theory.
Related ideas
Black and white thinking · Defence mechanisms · Object relations
Made by Alembic Labs. Educational, not clinical advice. Privacy · Terms