Self and Others: Object Relations Theory in Practice

Dr. Hamilton's "Self and Others" is a wonderful book, very helpful for beginning therapists. Dr. Hamilton (or, may I call you "N. Gregory?") bridges ego psychology and self psychology to give an understandable overview of object relations. I like the approach of not getting bogged down in the inter-paradigmatic debates, but just pulling bits and pieces from disparate models and fitting them together into a developmental scaffolding. The book starts with an overview of self, object, and ego. Part 2 provides a nice summary of individual development, from birth, separation-individuation, to object constancy. We next get a comprehensive but clear run-through of the psychological mechanism involved, such as integration, projection, incorporation, and the inherently convoluted projective identification. Part three describes the object relations continuum, still referencing descriptive diagnoses by recognizable labels but conceptualizing these as constellations of symptoms that correlate with deficiencies in specific early developmental tasks (psychotic organization originating as far back as autistic stages, borderline personality organization stemming from rapprochement, and neurotic personality organization being tied in to whole object relations). A little dense, but overall it is understandable without feeling oversimplified. Hamilton is also careful not to be too rigid with the schema. He doesn't overstate the model, he doesn't deny the complexity of the dynamics involved, doesn't assert causation to the point of being deterministic. The chapter on narcissistic personality disorder is particularly important in this modern pseudo-capitalist oligarchy we live in, which fosters plenty of narcissism in all of us. (No, not you.) Part 4 focuses on treatment, linking object relations theory to the actual clinical practice, with chapters on technique, countertransference, groups, systems, and parallel processes. Part 5 gets a little trippy, exploring object relations in broader contexts such as folklore, myths, reality vs. unreality, out-of-body experiences and hypnotism. Overall, 5 stars, two thumbs up, an important book. It's not a quick read but it is a worthy one. If I had to nitpick and try to be critical, I might say that it always seems odd to me when authors reference themselves, cite their own work in a passage (speaking of narcissistic personality styles). At first glance one assumes it is a reference to supporting literature, a sign of a well-researched monograph. But when you think about it, it just means the author still agrees with something they wrote at an earlier time. Also, check out some of the prose. Here's a description of the infant in the autistic first two months of life: "They seem to live in a world of light and color, warm and cold, pain and pleasure, loud and quiet, still and moved. This world, it appears, is not divided into sets of opposites as is this description, which is divided thus because of

It is an excellent book. A very thorough resource on Object Relations theory and its application to counseling. It is readable and explains the theory in a meaningful and helpful way. It's a great resource for graduate students and counselors of any age and experience!