First published in 1952, W.R.D. Fairbairn's Psychoanalytic Studies of the Personality re-oriented psychoanalysis by centering human development on the infant's innate need for relationships, describing the process of splitting and the internal dynamic relationship between ego and object. His elegant theory is still a vital framework of psychoanalytic theory and practice, infant research, group relations and family therapy. This classic collection of papers, available for the first time in paperback, has a new introduction by David Scharff and Elinor Fairbairn Birtles which sets Fairbairn's highly original work in context, provides an overview of object relations theory, and traces modern developments, launched by Fairbairn's discoveries.
'Personality Theories' by Albert Ellis - the founding father of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy - provides a comprehensive review of all major theories of personality including theories of personality pathology. Importantly, it critically reviews each of these theories in light of the competing theories as well as recent research.
W. R. D. Fairbairn (1889-1964) challenged the dominance of Freud's drive theory with a psychoanalytic theory based on the internalization of human relationships. Fairbairn assumed that the unconscious develops in childhood and contains dissociated memories of parental neglect, insensitivity, and outright abuse that are impossible the children to tolerate consciously. In Fairbairn's model, these dissociated memories protect developing children from recognizing how badly they are being treated and allow them to remain attached even to physically abusive parents. Attachment is paramount in Fairbairn's model, as he recognized that children are absolutely and unconditionally dependent on their parents. Kidnapped children who remain attached to their abusive captors despite opportunities to escape illustrate this intense dependency, even into adolescence. At the heart of Fairbairn's model is a structural theory that organizes actual relational events into three self-and-object pairs: one conscious pair (the central ego, which relates exclusively to the ideal object in the external world) and two mostly unconscious pairs (the child's antilibidinal ego, which relates exclusively to the rejecting parts of the object, and the child's libidinal ego, which relates exclusively to the exciting parts of the object). The two dissociated self-and-object pairs remain in the unconscious but can emerge and suddenly take over the individual's central ego. When they emerge, the "other" is misperceived as either an exciting or a rejecting object, thus turning these internal structures into a source of transferences and reenactments. Fairbairn's central defense mechanism, splitting, is the fast shift from central ego dominance to either the libidinal ego or the antilibidinal ego-a near perfect model of the borderline personality disorder. In this book, David Celani reviews Fairbairn's five foundational papers and outlines their application in the clinical setting. He discusses the four unconscious structures and offers the clinician concrete suggestions on how to recognize and respond to them effectively in the heat of the clinical interview. Incorporating decades of experience into his analysis, Celani emphasizes the internalization of the therapist as a new "good" object and devotes entire sections to the treatment of histrionic, obsessive, and borderline personality disorders.
Embracing all aspects of personality study, Advanced Personality addresses major established theories and vital current research topics in the field, from the perspectives of both clinical and scholarly settings. This impressive text-reference features chapters that cover, among other topics-psychobiological theories of personality- conscious and unconscious functioning-and personality disorders from a trait perspective. Written for entry-level graduate and upper-level undergraduate students, the book includes an introductory chapter with a chronological table listing all major figures in the history of the field, and tables that summarize key aspects of various theories.
"Unique synthesis from the French School of psychoanalytical projective methods This unique book synthesizes the work of leading thinkers of the French School of psychoanalytical projective methods in personality assessment. The French School is a direct successor to Rorschach's and Murray's original approaches using the Rorschach Test and the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). Underlying this method is the idea of the coexistence of conscious and unconscious processes, of opposite instinctual pairs, and of agents that are ruled by conflicts (Freud). Transitional activity is seen as part of an intermediate space, a mediator space, and bearer of messages between the subject and the clinician (Winnicott). This book brings to life the important contributions of the French School, firstly exploring its theories and methods and then its clinical applications. Detailed case studies from different stages of life examine the psychopathology of everyday life with its severe and disabling states of suffering. Contemporary advances in research and clinical work are presented, and the groundbreaking early work of Nina Rausch de Traubenberg, Vica Shentoub, and Rosine Debray are also critically reread and discussed. Clinical tools adapted for clinicians and researchers in the appendices include a useful schema to facilitate the interpretation of the Rorschach and TAT together, a list of latent solicitations for the TAT, and the current version of the TAT Scoring Grid. This book is essential reading for clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, psychotherapists, researchers, and students interested in applying psychoanalytical theory to projective methods"--
In this important new book, Dr. Otto F. Kernberg, one of the world's foremost psychoanalysts, explores the role of aggression in severe personality disorders and in normal and perverse sexuality, integrating new developments in psychoanalytic theory with findings from clinical work with severely regressed patients. The book also integrates Dr. Kernberg's recent studies of the descriptive, structural, and psychodynamic features of problems stemming from pathological aggression with the vicissitudes of their psychoanalytic treatment. Finally, Dr. Kernberg demonstrates the importance of differential diagnosis for effective psychoanalytically inspired treatment of these disorders, providing a rich variety of clinical illustrations. The book begins by relating the dual-drive theory of libido and aggression to contemporary developments in affect theory. Dr. Kernberg then applies this general theory of affects to aggression, which in its pathological form centers on the affect of hatred. He analyzes sado-masochistic, hysterical-hysteroid, and narcissistic-antisocial spectrums of personality disorders, emphasizing how aggression is structured in each group. Dr. Kernberg next describes and updates the theoretical frame underlying his approach to the treatment of these disorders, outlines their clinical manifestations, and illustrates their diagnosis and treatment, ranging from standard psychoanalysis with infantile personalities, to psychoanalytic psychotherapy with borderline personalities, to the psychotherapeutic approach to the treatment of psychosis and hospital milieu treatment in the management of highly regressed patients. In the final section, Dr. Kernberg links the findings from psychoanalytic approaches to personality disorders with those from the psychoanalytic study of sexual perversions.
How can we know what another human being is like in some meaningful, dynamic way? Can we distill the signature-like features of an individual personality? What is the relationship between personal experience and our attempts to describe the person who has that experience? This work by a highly respected senior psychologist is an effort to answer these questions. Irving E. Alexander presents a case for considering the personal narrative of a human life as the most compelling aspect of that life to be decoded and understood. In part a critique of an exclusive reliance on general theories about the development of personality and ways of knowing based primarily on comparison with others, Personology is illustrated with material drawn from the lives, personal writings, and theories of Freud, Jung, and Sullivan. Alexander develops new insights into the lives of these men and offers methods and guidelines for investigating and teaching personology and psychobiography.
Outcome Research and the Future of Psychoanalysis explores the connection between outcome studies and important and complex questions of clinical practices, research methodologies, epistemology, and sociological considerations. Presenting the ideas and voices of leading experts in clinical and extra-clinical research in psychoanalysis, the book provides an overview of the state of the art of outcome research, its results and implications. Furthermore, its contributions discuss the basic premises and ideas of outcome research and in which way the contemporary Zeitgeist might shape the future of psychoanalysis. Divided into three parts, the book begins by discussing the scientific basis of psychoanalysis and advances in psychoanalytic thinking as well as the state of the art of psychoanalytic outcome research, critically analyzing so-called evidence-based therapies. Part II of the book contains exemplary research projects that are discussed from a clinical perspective, illustrating the dialogue between researchers and clinicians. Lastly, in Part III, several psychoanalysts review the importance of critical thinking and research in psychoanalytical education. Thought-provoking and expertly written and researched, this book is a useful resource for academics, researchers and postgraduate students in the fields of mental health, psychotherapy, and psychoanalysis.
This book provides a re-appraisal of Carl Jung‘s work as a personality theorist. It offers a detailed consideration of Jung‘s work and theory in order to demystify some of the ideas that psychologists have found most difficult, such as Jung‘s religious and alchemical writings. The book shows why these two elements of his theory are integral to his
This revision of the Schultz's popular text surveys the field, presenting theory-by-theory coverage of the major theorists who represent the psychoanalytic, neopsychoanalytic, life-span, trait, humanistic, cognitive, behavioral, and social-learning approaches, as well as clinical and experimental work. Where warranted, the authors show how the development of certain theories was influenced by events in a theorist's personal and professional life. This thoroughly revised Seventh Edition now incorporates more examples, tables, and figures to help bring the material to life for students. The new content in this edition reflects the dynamism in the field. The text explores how race, gender, and culture issues figure in the study of personality and in personality assessment. In addition, a final integrative chapter looks at the study of personality theories and suggests conclusions that can be drawn from the many theorists' work.
