“Pathological identification” is a learned, psychological phenomenon in which patients unconsciously repeat pathological behaviors, attitudes, and affects their parents displayed in the past causing current problems in relationships with spouses, children, coworkers and friends. This phenomenon explains a wide range of pathologies that occur in everyday life that present frequently in psychotherapy and is often a hidden cause for patients failing to get better. The perspective on pathological identification developed in this article was first described by Joseph Weiss, who noted that patients unconsciously repeat their parents’ mistakes as a way to protect them and maintain an attachment. This article goes further to suggest that patients may reenact their parents’ problematic behaviors to avoid being aware of what their parents did to avoid their own scornful feelings in response, ultimately to protect parents from potential rejection or abandonment. This article traces the developing concept of pathological identification by writers including Sigmund Freud, Anna Freud, W.R.D. Fairbairn, and Joseph Weiss. It reviews the literature on how children protect their dysfunctional parents and the important role of altruism and loyalty in creating psychopathology. Based on this conceptualization, psychotherapy can help patients relinquish pathological identifications. How the therapist can recognize pathological identifications and the implications for treatment technique are illustrated with clinical examples.

中文翻译：

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病理鉴定。

“病态认同”是一种习得的心理现象，患者无意识地重复过去表现出的病态行为、态度和影响父母，导致当前与配偶、子女、同事和朋友的关系出现问题。这种现象解释了日常生活中发生的广泛的病理学，这些病理学经常出现在心理治疗中，并且通常是患者无法好转的隐藏原因。Joseph Weiss 首次描述了本文提出的病理鉴定观点，他指出患者会无意识地重复父母的错误，以此来保护他们并保持依恋。这篇文章进一步提出，患者可能会重演他们父母的问题行为，以避免意识到他们的父母做了什么，从而避免他们自己做出轻蔑的反应，最终保护父母免受潜在的拒绝或遗弃。本文追溯了 Sigmund Freud、Anna Freud、WRD Fairbairn 和 Joseph Weiss 等作家对病理学鉴定的发展概念。它回顾了关于儿童如何保护他们功能失调的父母以及利他主义和忠诚在创造精神病理学中的重要作用的文献。基于这种概念化，心理治疗可以帮助患者放弃病理性认同。临床实例说明了治疗师如何识别病理特征以及对治疗技术的影响。