countercathexis
|coun-ter-ca-thex-is|
🇺🇸
/ˌkaʊn.tɚ.kəˈθɛk.sɪs/
🇬🇧
/ˌkaʊn.tə.kəˈθɛk.sɪs/
opposing psychic energy
Etymology
'countercathexis' is formed in English by the prefix 'counter-' (meaning 'against' or 'opposite') combined with 'cathexis', a technical psychoanalytic term ultimately from Greek.
'cathexis' was adopted into psychoanalytic vocabulary (via German and English translations of Freud) from Greek 'kathexis' (meaning 'holding' or 'possession'), and later English combined it with the productive prefix 'counter-' to create 'countercathexis'.
Originally, 'cathexis' referred to the 'holding' or investment of psychic energy; 'countercathexis' later developed to denote an opposing or restraining investment of energy by the ego.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
in psychoanalytic theory, the expenditure of mental (psychic) energy by the ego to oppose, restrain, or bind libidinal or instinctual impulses (cathexes); an energy investment whose purpose is to counteract another cathexis.
The therapist noted a strong countercathexis keeping the patient from acting on aggressive impulses.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/10/18 11:06