[Affect as a mirror of internalized object relations].

Differently structured interview situations, simultaneously covering physiologic and psychologic parameters, were employed in the investigation of groups of patients suffering from either colitis or cardiac neuroses. Verbally expressed emotions in this context were evaluated by means of the Gottschalk-Gleser-Technique. It is implied that in each instance topical interaction patterns simultaneously incorporate internalized object relations linked up with the respective emotions. Hence the dynamics of previously internalized patterns of relations in the two groups of patients described can be reconstructed with the aid of psychoanalysis. Generally, patients suffering from colitis tend to express their anxieties and aggressions on a physical level whereas those suffering from cardiac neuroses are better capable of using language as an "outled valve" for their emotions.