Regression in the service of the ego

This was a phrase developed by Ernst Kris during his work in ego psychology indicating the creative benefits of regression.

He felt that the aims of the ego were sometimes enhanced by the ability of people to regress and use the irrational processes of the unconscious and the Id to develope alternative ways of thinking, feeling and behaving. While this is of obvious advantage to artists he was thinking to of the wider benefits of such flexibility.