Psychotherapy of the Disorders of the Self

From Front Jacket: "The Mastersons Approach to disorders of the self has evolved from over 30 years of scientific inquiry, four extended research projects, nine published volumes, and some 75 papers. In addition, it has led to a postgraduate training institute and a nationwide society. Through a unified view of the growth of self and object relations, the Masterson Approach provides a unique window of observation on all the clinical vicissitudes of developmental disorders of the self. Now in this path-breaking volume a new generation of clinicians further extend and deepen the body of theoretical and clinical work encompassed in the Masterson Approach by applying it across a wide range of clinical conditions. In the book's first section, the Editors introduce the Masterson Approach and its applications to personality disorders and differential diagnosis. Section II on 'The Scope of Psychotherapy' demonstrates through extensive case presentations the application of the Masterson Approach to a wide range of borderline and narcissistic disorders, including shorter-term therapy and work with adolescents. A basic tenet of the Approach is described in Section III on 'The Art of Confrontation with the Borderline Personality Disorder of the Self.' Then the section on 'Countertransference' vividly describes responses to the wide variety of acting out encountered with this difficult patient group. The last section, 'New Perspectives,' extends the approach in a number of areas, including pharmacotherapy, treatment of addictive behaviors, and the supervisory process."