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by Arnold I. Goldberg (Editor)
Volume 15 of Progress in Self Psychology conveys the rich pluralism of contemporary self psychology with respect to a central theoretical and clinical issue: the nature of the self and the manner in which is can best be studied. This topic is initially addressed through a series of papers reassessing selfobject transferences and the selfobject function of interpretation. It is then approached via the theory of psychoanalytic technique, with papers that focus on boundaries and intimacy and on "Surface, Depth, and the Isolated Mind". And it culminates in two case studies that elicit animated discussion delineating different perspectives - intersubjective, motivational systems, and self-selfobject - on the self in relation to the therapeutic process. Two studies comparing Melanie Klein and Heinz Kohut; a discussion of how current cultural attitudes affect parenting; a relational view of the therapeutic partnership; and an integration of Silvan Tomkin's affect theory with self psychology add breadth to this timely and provocative collection. Volume 15 includes additional letters from the Kohut Archives and a moving account of Kohut's struggle with his own impending death.
Author Biography
Arnold Goldberg, M.D., is the Cynthia Oudejan Harris, M.D. Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Rush Medical College in Chicago, and Training and Supervising Analyst, Institute for Psychoanalysis, Chicago. He is the author of a number of books, including Being of Two Minds: The Vertical Split in Psychoanalysis (TAP, 1999) and Errant Selves: A Casebook of Misbehavior (TAP, 2000).
