Chess as a way of improving object relationships in narcissistic teenagers

Gaines, Larry

Chess as a way of improving object relationships in narcissistic teenagers Adolescent Psychiatry - Find Articles

As with many interesting discoveries, the realization that chess can be used to improve object relationships with narcissistic adolescents came about serendipitously. The principal author' was counseling a 17-yearold boy of Russian/Armenian descent using traditional talk therapy. An exploration of the boy's family relationships revealed his perception of his mother and father as controlling and domineering-"they're from the Old World," as he described it. His heritage led to a discussion of Kasparov and other chess masters he could idealize (he took pride in his cultural identification). Sharing an interest in chess led to a "challenge" match, which was observed by the boy's fellow alternative education students. Chess became an immediate catalyst to students seeking a relationship with me, and the use of the game served as a method and metaphor for working with the narcissistic issues affecting their interpersonal and school relationships.

Literature Review

It is surprising that there is a paucity of articles in the psychoanalytic and psychological literature dealing with the use of chess in psychotherapeutic treatment.

Shapiro (1993) wrote, "There is virtually no game that children like to play ... which can't be adopted to some therapeutic purpose" (p. i). Avedon and Sutton-Smith (1971) broke game play down into its psychological and sociological aspects; according to these authors, the psychological aspect of games is how they give expression to and relieve anxiety derived from antecedent psychic states. The sociological qualities of games allow for competition, teamwork, and character training. Games provide the opportunity to use fantasy to work through psychic issues, and to develop the competence to handle real-life situations. To this end, Schaefer et al., in their books on play therapy (Schaefer and O'Connor, 1983; Schaefer and Reid, 1986), have devoted many chapters to the use of games in clinical (and educational) therapy.

Among the various descriptions of game play in therapy (Nickerson and O'Laughlin, 1983), several were relevant to this study of narcissistic adolescents found in an alternative education high school program. First, games may entice children into a therapeutic alliance. Resistance to therapeutic interventions was a major hurdle to overcome with the narcissistic adolescents in this study. On the one hand, we have Gardner's (1986) warnings that board games can become a means of resistance to therapeutic work on the part of the client and/or therapist; on the other hand, we have Loomis's (1957) description of how playing checkers can be used to successfully handle children's resistances. An important question for this chapter is how a chess game might modify the narcissistic defenses in these students and permit a therapeutic relationship to take place. In a discussion on guidelines for therapists' selection of games, Matorin and McNamara (1996) stated that the games must be appropriate in terms of the age and developmental level of the client. We believe, for the students to be described here, that chess served their developmental, cultural, and intrapsychic needs.

Second, games serve as a diagnostic and assessment tool (Nickerson and O'Laughlin 1983; Frey, 1986). For the adolescents in our study, we believe that chess did help identify their style of relating and interacting with others. Most important is Nickerson and O'Laughlin's (1983) idea that "games... create a safe and permissive climate in which a person can experiment with new behaviors" (p. 177). The game of chess seemed to serve as an arena in which students could try out more adaptive styles of play behavior. As their interpersonal competence grew, they applied those skills (learned in the game) to the classroom or their interpersonal lives. A review of the literature on the psychoanalytic study of games found two articles (Jones, 1931; Reider, 1959) specifically dealing with the dynamics of chess. In "Chess, Oedipus, and the Mater Dolorosa," Reider (1959) explored historically and psychologically how chess evokes the classical oedipal struggle of father murder (checkmating the king) and the defenses against it. Chess provides, clinically, for the inhibition and sublimation of aggression. It is an outlet for competition, a means to overcome life's obstacles, a means to gain mastery over one's impulses.

The queen (mother) holds a position of great power and importance in the game of chess. Through chess, one can explore the player's libidinal dynamics in the mother-son relationship and the queen's part in the conquest of the king. Reider (1959) concluded that the game of chess brings forth, "with a full measure of affect, the passions and mysteries of the unconscious" in its revelations about the family romance.

Jones (1931) wrote about chess in a paper called "The Problem of Paul Morphy." As well as describing the career of this chess genius of the 19th century, Jones offered some opinions about the unconscious motives of the players: "not the mere love of pugnacity characteristic of all competitive games, but the grimmer one of father-murder" (p. 3). "The mathematical quality of the game gives it a peculiarly anal-- sadistic nature... well adapted to gratify both the homosexual and the antagonistic aspects of the son-father contest" (p. 4). Jones described chess as "the wish to overcome the father in an acceptable way" (p. 11). These dynamics could certainly be relevant to the students here-vanquishing the father-psychologist.

Nickerson and O'Laughlin (1983) wrote, "The game may represent life, and hence, an opportunity to tangle with and master its complexities and vagaries in a telescoped and therapeutically focused manner" (p. 184). In the clinical cases that follow, the adolescents understood that "chess is a metaphor for life." In the safety of the game, the aim was to process their behavior and styles of relating and, through interpretation, connect these to their lives outside the game-involving them and their friends, school, and family.

The School Program

The alternative education program is a school-based program designed to work with at-risk children within the context of a normal high school. The program is similar to the opportunity classroom in some schools. Eighty students are selected for this program based on low attendance, disruptive classroom behavior, and being behind in academic credits. From a clinical perspective, the students entering this program are seen to present with narcissistic character dynamics, a history of family conflict experiences, and varying degrees of asocial behavior, such as poor impulse control and poor ability to delay gratification.

The Clinical Method

At-risk older adolescents (ages 16-18) are resistant to discussing (especially in school) their negative, self-defeating behaviors. In this chapter, we describe a play situation in which such adolescents accepted discussion of their behavioral patterns without mobilizing their defensive rejection. The enthusiastic and banter-filled challenging of narcissistic competitive attitudes helped to make these teenagers more open to suggested changes in self-defeating behavior. This gentle confrontation, occurring in the course of the chess game, was designed to help the students win against the adult school psychologist. The focus on their styles of play was also applied to their performance in school. The chess game became a metaphor for school and life and bypassed the defensiveness of wounded narcissism.

The demographics of the population in this alternative education program is approximately 60 percent Armenian American, 39 percent Hispanic, and 1 percent other. As Armenian American students are culturally oriented to the game of chess, their large presence contributed to the effectiveness of this intervention. Indeed, the entire group of students was highly motivated to play the game.

A behavioral contract was established whereby the students could play chess with me only after completing a certain amount of schoolwork or earning credits in a class they were taking. The four students selected as clinical case samples were seen, on average, every other week throughout the course of the school year.

In play therapy with children and adolescents, it is often necessary to monitor the transference and countertransference as related to winning or losing. The four students selected as clinical samples were competent chess players. They made it clear from the start of their interaction with me that they wanted me to play my best. The group saw me as "king of the hill." It fit into their narcissistic character that, to feel a sense of accomplishment, they had to beat the "best" in a fair contest. As a result, I played my best, each game, but interpreted the style of playing on their part as well as my own. This was a way of making a clinical intervention relating to dealing with the students' specific problems and behavioral manifestations in school, as well as in the game.

Chess is not often a part of office psychotherapy with children. It requires more time than the usual therapy hour, and the necessary silent consideration of moves does not allow the verbal interaction desired by many therapists. However, some therapists have been able to integrate the game into the psychotherapy (e.g., Reider, 1959). This chapter describes a nonclinical use of chess-which does not have the constraints of a psychotherapy hour. The adult therapist is a former school psychologist hired by the school district to consult and interact with students in a secondary alternative school. There were interactions with students in many informal situations. All the students knew my reputation as a good chess player. This served as a challenge to the students to beat this "cocky" adult who vaunted his prowess, though not in an intimidating way.

CASE 1

Saul was a 17-year-old Armenian American who showed strong narcissistic character traits. He presented as extremely self-centered and lacked a sense of consideration for others, including teachers and peers. Frequently truant from school, he fell behind in credits necessary for graduation. His work. effort in the alternative education program was, at best, inconsistent. Saul was seen as a very bright student, and, when he wanted to work, he accomplished a great deal in his classes. More typically, though, he talked to friends regardless of their need to study, played games in class, and rarely listened to or followed directions from the teacher.

In the chess game, Saul developed very powerful and concentrated attack positions. Typical of his self-centered orientation, however, he rarely paid attention to my own attack plans. He played chess as if what he did was all that mattered or that was worthy of consideration. The very first game we played was notable. We both castled our kings, and he mounted a strong attack against my king. He failed, however, to move the pawn in front of his king forward. I was able to place my queen and bishop in front of his king. Due to Saul's attack, I had to sacrifice a piece to him in order to get a free move, which then resulted in his being checkmated. Being checkmated seemed always to catch him by surprise.

The therapeutic interventions for Saul were to point out and demonstrate his failure to attend to my game plan. This served as a metaphor for his failure to attend to his peers' or teacher's needs as well. This self-centered behavior got him into trouble in school as well as in the chess games.

Fortunately, through the year, Saul became better at listening to and following teachers' directions and respecting other individuals' needs. He began to use his class time more wisely, and was able to make up enough credits to graduate. His behavior in class was less disruptive and more respectful of all those around him. We played our final game in May, near the end of the school year. As in previous games, we castled our kings, and he mounted a strong attack against my king. When I lined my queen and castle up against the pawn in front of his king, he looked at me, smiled, and said, "I'm now watching what you do," as he moved his pawn forward one space. This effectively blocked my counterattack, and for the first time he went on to win the game. He was triumphant!

CASE 2

Giro was a 16-year-old Armenian American who presented with passive and overt aggression, fear of defeat, narcissistic character traits, and oppositional defiant behaviors. He was actively involved in formal boxing training outside school.

Giro's passive aggressiveness was manifested by his sitting in the classroom day after day not doing any work at all. His overt aggressiveness arose when he felt treated with disrespect. For example, when confronted by a teacher, Giro did not back down. Instead, he "got into the teacher's face" and verbally fought back. He was not afraid to fight physically, although in school he managed to control any physical aggressiveness. Being suspended for such behavior was inconsequential to Giro. He stated on many occasions that he did not want to go to school, but he also failed to demonstrate other life goals or to take any concrete realistic action in making life plans. The contract with Giro to complete classwork in order to play chess games was noted by his teachers to be the first time in a year that Giro had done any work at all in school.

In the chess game, Giro took the position, "I'm not afraid to trade pieces with you." Our game developed such that we built up concentrations of pieces. Pieces were positioned to attack but also to protect one another and to converge on some focal point on the board. As the tension grew, Giro swapped pieces no matter the consequences. On the other hand, I swapped pieces only if the outcome was advantageous to me-if I would gain some type of board advantage. If not, I withdrew defensively. Giro seemed to be unable to make such a defensive withdrawal. It was more in his narcissistic interests to be tough and to stand up to me regardless of the consequences.

My therapeutic effort with Giro was to interpret his confrontational style in the game and use this as a metaphor in explaining his style with his teachers or peers. I suggested to Giro that obtaining his goal in life is most important. I also suggested that backing down does not amount to "failure to be a man" but actually could be advantageous if it moved him closer to obtaining his goals. Giro's style of play changed. He began to show a better balance between confrontation and defensive withdrawal. He displayed similar behavior in the classroom-became less confrontational with teachers or peers who in his opinion were disrespectful. Although Giro made little progress in these classes, failing to earn credits for graduation, he did decide to leave school to go to work and to pursue his boxing career as his stated life goal. Giro's change in style of chess playing resulted in a draw in the subsequent games he played-rather than a loss.

CASE 3

Lemont was a 16-year-old African American diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This was manifested by poor impulse control, poor planning skills, and narcissistic character traits. Lemont was not receiving any medical treatment for this condition. In class, he rarely completed assigned work. He seemed unable to use his time wisely in class. Instead, he was drawn to any group that was doing something he perceived to be "more interesting" than what he was expected to do. As a result of this disruptive behavior, Lemont was frequently asked to leave the classroom.

In the chess game, Lemont had at best a vague strategy. He moved his pieces quickly into a desired position he had in mind but paid little attention to what else was going on in the game. He frequently became irritated when I spent a long time deliberating my moves. His inability to tolerate his irritation seemed to further affect his decision making. It was not uncommon that, when I made an aggressive move, Lemont withdrew impulsively, even if he could have made a forward, assertive move just as safely. He seemed to play one move at a time and to have trouble evaluating the various alternatives and consequences of multiple piece positions. It was not uncommon for Lemont to focus solely on my king. He rarely developed strategies to isolate an attack on other pieces, even if they were undefended.

Therapeutic interventions involved discussing our different styles of playing. The difference between Lemont's impulsive style and my deliberate style was pointed out, as were the difficulties he had in setting short-term objectives and in using foresight-in looking three to four moves ahead. This metaphor was used to help Lemont set his goals in school in more easily managed segments. That is, instead of thinking about earning five credits for a class and about not being able to reach that goal, we talked about setting a goal to read one chapter at a time and about breaking that down further into manageable, dayto-day work that he could accomplish. Although this had been stressed with Lemont many times (standard treatment for ADHD children and adolescents), hearing it in the context of the chess game allowed him to better incorporate it.

Over the course of the year, Lemont's play in the game changed dramatically. He became much more thoughtful and deliberate in his moves. He was also seen as being more successful in establishing and carrying out short-term objectives such as capturing less valuable but more vulnerable pieces. This resulted in his achieving draws in the later games he played. In his schoolwork, Lemont became more successful at accomplishing small-step objectives such as completing chapters in his school texts. However, these little steps did not result in Lemont's completing enough work to make up the credits he needed. He left the alternative education program to go to a continuation school, which allowed more freedom in making up school credits. Most noteworthy was Lemont's ability to secure an after-school job, which he has maintained for more than a year.

CASE 4

Armen is a 17-year-old Armenian American who presented with an adjustment reaction to his parents' divorce. Before the divorce, his family (particularly his father) could have been described as being not critical of him but unavailable. This situation seemed to have left Armen without a significant male identification source. Although the family was verbally supportive of school, there was little follow-up with regard to Armen's efforts. As a result, Armen got far behind in credits due to his own inconsistent work habits. He presented as a quiet, friendly, "kick-back" kid who was not disruptive but who also did not complete his work. One of Armen's strengths was that he had a small business that he ran out of his home-he bred and sold exotic birds. This business demonstrated his knowledge of exotic birds and was a source of pride to him, even though it was not financially successful.

Armen played chess with a well-balanced game of offense and defense. He was sometimes impatient with my long deliberations, but most noteworthy was his quick discouragement if I got ahead early in the game. When that happened, I saw a dramatic drop-off in his efforts. He made mistakes, and he refused to take back the move even when I gave him permission to do so, which resulted in my winning the game quickly. My style contrasted with his in that I played with an attitude of "never give up." On occasion, Armen was successful in taking my queen early in the game, but I always managed to come back to win.

My therapeutic intervention with Armen was to interpret how his self-defeating attitude and behavior in the game also occurred in his schoolwork. For example, Armen sometimes lost his drive when facing the daunting task of completing a long chapter. He was able to use the "never give up" interpretation from the chess game as his own, and was able over the school year to earn 60 extra credits toward graduation. He also made it his mission to beat me, which had the effect of freeing up, as well as sublimating, his aggressive drive. In a game that lasted more than two hours, Armen and I were down to three pieces each: a pawn, a castle, and the king. Knowing Armen's tendency to withdraw from aggression, I threatened his castle with my own. Instead of withdrawing, Armen swapped castles and commented on his changed attitude regarding his own aggressiveness. As Armen's pawn was in good board position, he was able to get back his queen first and defeat me.

Discussion

It was impressive that all four adolescents showed an increased willingness to change after becoming aware of hidden aspects of their behavioral styles. This change can be seen as the result of their having a new type of adult available-someone enthusiastic and playful. These adolescents did not have the experience of a father or other adult who openly enjoyed playing with them, let alone allowed or encouraged them to vanquish the adult. In some ways, playing chess was the "roughand-tumble" kind of play enjoyed by younger males. These adolescents could enjoy the combat as well as identify with the more successful and skillful style of this adult. Rather than humiliate them-in reaction to the fear of losing to them-the adult was willing to share his skills. This experience may not be readily replicable in all settings, or beneficial to all adolescents, but it deserves to become a feature of work with at-risk adolescents in various settings.

All the adolescents described here valued the game of chess. Awareness of the cultural aspects that contributed to the interest and motivation of some members of the group is also evident. It's interesting that chess goes back in history to Eastern civilizations that sprung up around India; it moved to Persia and later to Europe. Chess is taught to most young children in Russia, and it is common for European fathers to teach and play chess with their children. It may well follow that the adolescents described in this chapter reflected the general father-son relationship-this being one major cause of their narcissistic, competitive conflicts interfering with the process of learning in general. Chess is valued by many more children than is generally recognized, and, when therapists are familiar and comfortable with the game, it can be used in school or individual therapy as any other play or game. We believe, however, that there are certain specific qualities of chess that may allow it to be used advantageously.

Chess, like music or art, may have qualities inherent to the mental functioning of humans. If true, chess may prove useful as a unique way of addressing and understanding the thinking, emotion, and psychology of certain individuals. Chess allows time and a play space for both players to reflect internally (cognitively and emotionally), plan, think ahead, anticipate, and imagine what plan or type of player/person they are playing. It allows for degrees of involvement or noninvolvement (aggressiveness or defensiveness) and the opportunity to talk or remain silent. Chess encourages inner reflection and consideration, similar to that found in the core aspects of therapy. When chess is used therapeutically, the therapist is not just playing but is organizing his or her ideas of the inner issues the patient is struggling with and how and when to address them.

The challenge of therapeutically affecting narcissistic adolescents was addressed in this chapter. The therapeutic results described can be attributed to several factors. First, a playful attitude (Moran, 1987) and a shared enthusiasm for the game are important. We believe that, by tolerating narcissistic injury (as countertransference), the therapist can feel pride, pleasure, and respect for the adolescent. The second factor consists of the various verbal and nonverbal interpretations directed to the specific conflicts in the four adolescents. In the work with Saul, the focus was on his defensive, self-centered view of the world. This had interfered with his progressive use of his intelligence and relationships. The therapist described "pointing out" Saul's failure to attend to his opponent's game plan-a failure that is metaphorically analogous to one of the adolescent's difficulties in school. Chess is especially suited as a playspace for this issue. The game calls for each player to develop a strategy in his mind (silently), to compete (and possibly win), and to consider his opponent's strategy. It allows the players a silent sharing over extended time in a setting where the external demand that is experienced may be less than that experienced in the classroom. Being together in the "chess space" was completely different from any initial verbal focus on Saul's school problems. Saul's limitations in being able to put himself in another's shoes typified his narcissistic dynamics. We submit that this position improved with Saul's ability to not only "watch" the therapists moves, but also with the shared experience of the joy of his winning. This confirmed that Saul knew the therapist experienced pleasure in Saul's progress and that the therapist was able to lose without suffering a narcissistic blow.

The other three adolescents equally demonstrate the focus and interpretations on their different conflicts. Giro's aggressiveness defended against the emotional injury of backing down. Understanding this was beautifully described as "exchanging pieces," which was experienced as a confrontation, as not backing down. In the chess playspace, the therapist backed down, and at the appropriate time interpreted Giro's male castration conflicts, where Giro's long-term goals were impeded as long as he equated backing down as not masculine. For Lemont, suffering with ADHD and narcissistic character disorder, chess offered opportunities to bring these issues directly into the therapy-taking time to think, thinking ahead, and tolerating waiting. With Armen, chess served as a vehicle to talk about his private life and his interest in exotic birds. The intense involvement of the therapist contrasted dramatically with Armen's family's lack of involvement. Finally, chess allowed each adolescent to use this interaction to find an acceptable way to move on with life not in a school setting. The outcome of the "game" allowed life to go forward.

The degree of distress in losing any game is a good measure of the narcissistic vulnerability of all children and adults. Often the intensity of distress over a bad move or action in a game can lead to play disruption (violent at times). In the use of chess in dynamically oriented psychotherapy with children and adolescents, there have been times when the impulsive child cannot tolerate the waiting, or when other internal issues arise, and the game changes-pieces become missiles, bombs between two armies.

The unconscious conflict regarding the need to win can, in males, relate to killing the father. Frequently, this is demonstrated after the child wins the game, where in victory, he takes his king and moves it where he can kill, and smash the opponent's king. On the other hand, chess may serve a defensive purpose providing necessary mental structure, or containment of one's anxiety-better than the pathological defenses in use do. This ability of chess players to manage pathological defenses allows for intervention and interpretation to take place in the playspace.

Chess, as all games, depends on the developmental level (emotional, cognitive, age) of each child. With preschool or early-latency children, the pieces quickly turn into animated play objects playing out their fantasies. In the adolescent struggle to separate and find a unique identity is a normal increase in narcissism. In the adolescents described in this chapter, however, it was destructive to their functioning in school and probably at home. When used therapeutically, the chess game served as a valuable metaphor for these students; it helped them to address their narcissistic issues in their struggle to complete their adolescent passage.

Chess has generally been a game between males, but outstanding female players are on the rise. An issue for further research might be how female chess players view the king-as ruler, male, female, or of neither gender.2

The first-person perspective is used throughout this chapter to convey the personal involvement and enthusiasm the principal author experienced in the clinical work with these students.

21 refer the reader to The World of Chess, an excellent book by Dr. A. Saidy and N. Lessing, Random House, 1974.

REFERENCES

Avedon, E. & Sutton-Smith, B. (1971), The Study of Games. New York: Wiley.

Frey, D. (1986), Communication board games with children. In: Handbook of Play Therapy, ed. C. Schaefer & S. Reid. New York: Wiley, pp. 21-40.

Gardner, R. (1986), The Psychotherapeutic Techniques of Richard A. Gardner. Cresskill, NJ: Creative Therapeutics.

Jones, E. (1931), The problem of Paul Morphy. Internal. J. PsychoAnal., 12:1-24.

Loomis, E. (1957), Use of checkers in handling resistances. J. Amer. Psychoanal. Assn., 5:130-135.

Matorin, A. & McNamara, J. (1996), Using board games in therapy with children. Internal. J. Play Ther., 5:3-16.

Moran, G. (1987), Some functions of play and playfulness. The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 42:11-29. New Haven, CT: International Universities Press.

Nickerson, E. & O'Laughlin, K. (1983), The therapeutic use of games. In: Handbook of Play Therapy, ed. C. Schaefer & K. O'Connor. New York: Wiley, pp. 174-187.

Reider, N. (1959), Chess, Oedipus, and the mater dolorosa. Internal. J. Psycho-Anal., 40:320-333.

Schaefer, C. & O'Connor, K., ed. (1983), Handbook of Play Therapy. New York: Wiley.

& Reid, S. (1986), Game Play: Therapeutic Use of Childhood Games. New York: Wiley.

Shapiro, L. (1993), The Book of Psychotherapeutic Games. King of Prussia, PA: Center for Applied Psychology.

IRVING BERKOVITZ, M.D. is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles. He also maintains a private practice in the Los Angeles area.

LARRY GAINES, PH.D. is a licensed psychologist, specializing in clinical and educational psychology, combining behavioral, cognitive, and psychodynamic approaches to psychotherapy. He maintains a private practice, while providing consulting services to local school districts.

BEN KOHN, M.D. is in private practice in Adult and Child Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis since 1965, Beverly Hills, California; and Member and Chair of Child Analysis, Southern California Psychoanalytic Institute; and Attending Staff, Department of Child Psychiatry, CedarsSinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California (Emeritus).