 Object relations theory tended to see superego resistance in terms of a patient's relationship with an internalised critical/persecutory parent figure.Reluctance to end the 'security' of the bond to the internalised parent strengthens the superego resistance.Where the ego ideal is harshly perfectionist, or represents an internalised mother who idealised suffering over enjoyment, superego resistance takes the form of a refusal to be 'corrupted' by the progress of the therapy.