Hatred, Emptiness, and Hope: Transference-Focused Psychotherapy in Personality Disorders

by Otto F. Kernberg MD

Overview

In this important new volume, Otto F. Kernberg, M.D., of Weill Cornell Medical College, offers an updated vision of psychoanalytic object relations theory, revealing its application to transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP), a treatment approach derived from, and related to, psychoanalysis.

Collecting previously published articles and new material based on empirical studies carried out by the Personality Disorders Institute of Weill Cornell, the book illustrates TFP's applicability in scenarios that include:

• Schizoid personality disorders• Psychotic personality organization• Disturbances in sexuality and love relations in cases of narcissistic personalities• Inpatient hospital treatment• Large group regression in organizational and political settings as a consequence of malignant narcissism

Hatred, Emptiness, and Hope also devotes a chapter to the implications of new developments in neurobiology on psychoanalytic object relations theory, examining the relationship between neurobiological dispositions and their interaction with psychodynamic developments.

Besides offering a detailed look at the application of TFP to severe personality disorders, this book also examines the practice of TFP itself, tackling controversial issues regarding the supervision of psychoanalysis and its derived psychotherapies, the challenges for the future of psychoanalysis, and innovations that may serve to strengthen its role as a profession, a treatment approach and a social organization within mental health sciences.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781615374618
Publisher:	American Psychiatric Association Publishing
Publication date:	08/09/2022
Pages:	276
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.48(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Otto F. Kernberg, M.D., is Director of the Personality Disorders Institute at New York Presbyterian Hospital, Westchester Division, a Professor of Psychiatry at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, and a Training and Supervising Analyst at the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research in New York.

Table of Contents

Introduction ix

Acknowledgments xiii

Part I Major Theoretical Statements

1 Object Relations Theory and Transference Analysis 3

2 Some Implications of New Developments in Neurobiology for Psychoanalytic Object Relations Theory 15

Part II Technique

3 Extensions of Psychoanalytic Technique The Mutual Influences of Standard Psychoanalysis and Transference-Focused Psychotherapy 35

4 Therapeutic Implications of Transference Structures in Various Personality Pathologies 61

5 Affective Dominance, Dyadic Relationship, and Mentalization 95

6 Reflections on Supervision 113

Part III Specific Psycho pathologies

7 Psychodynamics and Treatment of Schizoid Personality Disorders 133

8 Psychotic Personality Structure 147

9 Narcissistic Pathology of Love Relations 165

Part IV Application of Object Relations Theory

10 Psychoanalytic Approaches to Inpatient Treatment of Personality Disorders A Neglected Dimension 191

11 Malignant Narcissism and Large Group Regression 213

12 Challenges for the Future of Psychoanalysis 233

Index 251

What People are Saying About This

Salman Akhtar

In this most recent book of his, Kernberg skillfully synthesizes mentalization-based approaches, neurobiological observations, and psychoanalytic object relations theory with his widely recognized paradigm of TFP ( Transference Focused Therapy) for the treatment of severe personality disorders. He delineates useful strategies for the inpatient management of patients with such disorders and extends his insights to malignant regressions at the societal, large group levels. Working in unison, these contributions produce an illuminating, wise, and highly beneficial addition to our professional literature

Robert Michels

Otto Kernberg is one of the leading psychoanalysts in the world. This volume collects his most recent papers on theory, clinical method, supervision, psychotherapy, groups and organizations, and the future of psychoanalysis.

Editorial Reviews

The book is intended to describe contemporary psychoanalytic object relations theory as a general theoretical frame of treatment allowing us to conceptualize both normal personality functioning and the very nature of personality disorders. It meets these objectives by assembling the author's extensive research and experience in object relations. The book makes a strong case for the use of object relations to understand personality structure and therapeutically treat individuals with personality disorders, where other methods of psychoanalysis may be limited.

The book is directed toward practicing clinicians, especially those working with individuals with personality disorders. The material is very detailed and will be best understood by those with some foundational understanding of object relations theory, which the book expands upon. The author, Dr. Kernberg, is a prominent figure in the field of psychoanalytic object relations.

This book provides an in-depth look at object relations in psychoanalytic theory from an expert in the field. The author builds upon his previous work by discussing research, exploring the neurobiological basis to support psychoanalytic object relations, and providing compelling evidence regarding the usefulness of this framework while working with individuals with severe personality disorders. The book requires some foundational understanding of object relations theory, but provides great depth and new insights on the subject and its application beyond the traditional psychotherapy setting.

Doody - Matthew Koster

The book is intended to describe contemporary psychoanalytic object relations theory as a general theoretical frame of treatment allowing us to conceptualize both normal personality functioning and the very nature of personality disorders. It meets these objectives by assembling the author's extensive research and experience in object relations. The book makes a strong case for the use of object relations to understand personality structure and therapeutically treat individuals with personality disorders, where other methods of psychoanalysis may be limited.

The book is directed toward practicing clinicians, especially those working with individuals with personality disorders. The material is very detailed and will be best understood by those with some foundational understanding of object relations theory, which the book expands upon. The author, Dr. Kernberg, is a prominent figure in the field of psychoanalytic object relations.

This book provides an in-depth look at object relations in psychoanalytic theory from an expert in the field. The author builds upon his previous work by discussing research, exploring the neurobiological basis to support psychoanalytic object relations, and providing compelling evidence regarding the usefulness of this framework while working with individuals with severe personality disorders. The book requires some foundational understanding of object relations theory, but provides great depth and new insights on the subject and its application beyond the traditional psychotherapy setting.

From the Publisher