Linking Objects and Linking Phenomena

This reissue of a classic work that revolutionized the understanding and treatment of pathological mourning contains a new preface, Foreword from Harold F. Searles, and fascinating, detailed reports of actual cases. Building on fifteen years of clinical research, it shows how bereaved persons mired in mourning their loss can be helpe

Vamik Volkan brings a breadth of theory, academic rigor, and clinical study to the subject of ‘complicated mourning.’ He focuses on the, at times, bizarre ways in which bereaved persons maintain contact with the dead by means of inanimate objects or psychic phenomena invested with magical powers, which he calls ‘linking objects’ and ‘linking phenomena.’ For these individuals, their mourning reproduces the same ambivalence that characterized their lifetime relationships with the deceased and they simultaneously long for and dread a return from the grave. The linking object or phenomenon enables the mourner to maintain the illusion of external control over the dead person and extends the mourning process indefinitely. Volkan carefully distinguishes this ‘established pathological mourning’ from neurotic depression and normal mourning. Grief in itself is not a mental disorder and he provides original contributions to our understanding of grieving, from both a phenomenological and metapsychological point of view. Volkan introduces his clinical research, describes helpful exercises and psychotherapeutic techniques, and offers examples of a revolutionary brief psychotherapy called ‘re-grief therapy.’ Continuing case studies bring the rich theory to life, including illuminating clinical illustrations of the ‘replacement child,’ and demonstrate the effectiveness of psychoanalytic treatment. On the theoretical side, Volkan compares linking objects with transitional objects, fetishes, talismans, and inanimate objects considered magical by psychotics. Linking Objects and Linking Phenomena is a seminal work on the subject of mourning which decades on from its original publication continues to give practicing clinicians, academics, and trainees much to ponder, assimilate, and put to technical, theoretical, and practical use.

Preface to the reissue Acknowledgments About the author Foreword by Harold F. Searles, M.D. Introduction: The evolution of research into complicated mourning Part I: Phenomenological and theoretical findings Uncomplicated mourning Complications in the initial stage of the mourning process Complications in the work of mourning: Reactive depression Complications in the work of mourning: Established pathological mourning An example of the linking object: Othello's handkerchief Part II: Treatment Psychoanalytic psychotherapy of established pathological mourning The daughters of Goodbar Re-grief therapy Three more examples of re-grief therapy A yellow spot in the bottom of a coffee cup Part III: Living linking objects and related psychological states Children's reactions to death: "Negative" outcome - the case of the stone swan Children's reactions to death: "Positive" outcome - the case of "Immortal Ataturk" A living linking object: The case of the Night of the Living Dead Part IV: Coda Magical inanimate objects References Name index Subject index,

Preface to the reissue

Acknowledgments

About the author

Foreword by Harold F. Searles, M.D.

1. Introduction: The evolution of research into complicated mourning

Part I: Phenomenological and theoretical findings

2. Uncomplicated mourning
3. Complications in the initial stage of the mourning process
4. Complications in the work of mourning: Reactive depression
5. Complications in the work of mourning: Established pathological mourning
6. An example of the linking object: Othello’s handkerchief 

Part II: Treatment

7. Psychoanalytic psychotherapy of established pathological mourning
8. The daughters of Goodbar
9. Re-grief therapy
10. Three more examples of re-grief therapy 
11. A yellow spot in the bottom of a coffee cup

Part III: Living linking objects and related psychological states

12. Children’s reactions to death: “Negative” outcome – the case of the stone swan
13. Children’s reactions to death: “Positive” outcome – the case of “Immortal Atatürk”
14. A living linking object: The case of the Night of the Living Dead

Part IV: Coda

15. Magical inanimate objects

References

Name index

Subject index

• By (author) Vamık Volkan

‘Linking Objects and Linking Phenomena is a classic of the clinical psychoanalytic literature on pathological mourning. Vamık Volkan’s diagnostic distinctions and grief therapy innovations have helped innumerable patients over the years. But why now reissue this book? Could it be that, with so many losses all around us – and so many efforts to compensate for them in destructive ways – there are truths in this book to be re-learned and developed for our time? In his later work with groups in conflict, Volkan describes “chosen trauma” – the way that historical trauma shapes large-group identity toward future disaster – as an “infection of the mourning process.” Is it time now to look again at the dynamics of pathological mourning, writ large in our current era, and to mine this book for insights that might help both our patients and our communities?’

— M. Gerard Fromm, Ph.D., Distinguished Faculty Member, Erikson Institute, Austen Riggs Center; Fellow, American Board and Academy of Psychoanalysis

‘In a time when neuroscience is finally catching up with the study of the grieving brain, Dr. Volkan’s classic work with patients suffering from pathological mourning is more relevant than ever. Concepts like the “linking objects,” which unconsciously keep the mental representation of the lost person alive, or the notion of “perennial mourners” unable to resolve their ambivalence to the lost person, are important for the understanding and treatment of complicated mourning. A future neuropsychoanalytic comprehension of the pain over the loss of our loved ones requires an examination of its impact on both our brain and soul.’

— Jose Fernando Muñoz Zúñiga, neuropsychiatrist and psychoanalyst; Associate Editor, Neuropsychoanalysis

'I read the original 1981 publication as a trainee counsellor in the 1990s so was interested to re-read this latest edition. It is an exceptionally well-written synthesis of theory, case studies and personal reflections based on 15 years of research at the University of Virginia. Volkan, now in his 90s, has written a new preface in which he shares the early experiences that led to his interest in blocked mourning. Originally written at a time when psychoanalytic treatments were growing in popularity and were more freely available, there is a refreshing evangelical energy in Volkan's writing. The descriptions of ambivalence - how it feels to love and hate the same person, or know someone is dead but think they are alive - are the most helpful I have ever read. The chapters on Volkan's innovative re-grief therapy and use of photos and other linking objects are as relevant today as they were then [...] This book is essential reading for bereavement work but also a useful resource for all counsellors working with loss'

— Therapy Today, Jane Cooper MBACP (Snr Accred), March 2026, Volume 37, Issue 2