(Inter)Personal Space: Personality Type Cartoon

Jung posited temperament was an innate feature of personality. This has remained a concept of significant importance, such as the Big 5 Factor Model of personality, in psychological literature broadly, and in daily clinical practice conceptualizing our clients. Temperament refers to the continuum of introversion to extroversion, and how it maps onto personality typology or coping (see Kernberg's personality model below).

Interpersonal style, as applied to mini-Freud's personal space

In the graphic to the left, we can see a highly extroverted personality using active means to achieve a sense of closeness - literally climbing into mini-Freud's personal bubble. This most embodies the interpersonal approach of histrionic personality disorders, or active dependency. This person will attach (and feel better) unusually quickly in therapy, while individuals with borderline personality may present this way coupled with pushing away (fear or aggression).

Just below, we see someone taking active means to self-protect from the sense of vulnerability of a relationship - of allowing anyone else to enter into their interpersonal world. This might relate to highly introverted personalities like cluster C, Odd-Eccentric types - paranoid, schizoid, and schizotypal.

Lastly, we see a balanced approach, not barricading and isolating, nor breaching, but extending a warm hand and welcome. We can safely and with a paced cadence allow others into our world and accept their departure (both momentarily or permanently).

Kernberg relates temperament to typology

This process of connection and disconnection is discussed in Gestalt literature in the form of a sine (sinusoidal) wave.

The upper peak might represent the height of interpersonal attachment - the greater the amplitude (higher the peak), the more intense or intimate the connection. The lower peak is disconnection, which also is marked by interpersonal intensity.

The upper peak - connection - brings up a sense of vulnerability and fear of loss if the other is allowed to be an important figure in our lives. We are faced with the existential dilemma: to allow someone in, make meaning through relatedness, and to care enough that it would hurt to inevitably lose them? We can live safely and sadly in isolation.

Disconnection brings up fears of being alone, abandonment, or separation anxiety. Will I feel alone, detached and adrift? Will they ever come back? A developmental goal is tolerating this - both temporary and permanent detachments and differentiation. Being ok on our own for healthy periods of time while also open to close and intimate connection.

This process can be the "stuff" of therapy - what is it like for the client to attach to us? To trust us, let us in, face the vulnerability of closeness, potential loss and judgement? What is it like to end a session, wait for us for a week? Possibly face therapy termination or our death?

This can be a sole and consistent focus in Existential Therapy. See James Mann's Time-Limited Psychotherapy.