"The relational and the developmental point of view have never been brought together in an adequate way. This up-to-date scholarly, yet practical, integration opens a new vista within relational psychoanalysis and pioneers a fresh approach in the psychoanalytic treatment of children and adolescents. It is a work of great and lasting value to the field."–Peter Fonagy

This eloquent book translates attachment theory and research into an innovative framework that grounds adult psychotherapy in the facts of childhood development. Advancing a model of treatment as transformation through relationship, the author integrates attachment theory with neuroscience, trauma studies, relational psychotherapy, and the psychology of mindfulness. Vivid case material illustrates how therapists can tailor interventions to fit the attachment needs of their...

What kinds of questions do experienced therapists ask themselves when facing a new client? How can clinical expertise be taught? From the author of the landmark Psychoanalytic Diagnosis, this book takes clinicians step-by- step through developing an understanding of each client's unique psychology and using this information to guide and inform treatment decisions. McWilliams shows that while seasoned practitioners rely upon established diagnostic categories for re...

This acclaimed clinical guide and widely adopted text has filled a key need in the field since its original publication. Nancy McWilliams makes psychoanalytic personality theory and its implications for practice accessible to practitioners of all levels of experience. She explains major character types and demonstrates specific ways that understanding the patient's individual personality structure can influence the therapist's focus and style of intervention. Guidelines ar...

Narcissists have been much maligned, but according to clinicians who study personality, there are many productive narcissists who succeed spectacularly well in life because they can articulate a vision and make others follow. Elsa Ronningstam, who has been studying and treating narcissists for 20 years, presents a balanced, comprehensive, and up-to-date review of our understanding of narcissistic personality disorder, explaining the range from personality trait, which can be productive, to...

Shame, the quintessential human emotion, received little attention during the years in which the central forces believed to be motivating us were identified as primitive instincts like sex and aggression. Now, redressing the balance, there is an explosion of interest in the self-conscious emotion. Much of our psychic lives involve the negotiation of shame, asserts Michael Lewis, internationally known developmental and clinical psychologist. Shame is normal, not pathological, though opposit...

A uniquely practical guide and widely adopted text, this book shows precisely what therapists can say at key moments to enhance the process of healing and change. Paul Wachtel explains why some communications in therapy are particularly effective, while others that address essentially the same content may actually be countertherapeutic. He offers clear and specific guidelines for how to ask questions and make comments in ways that facilitate collaborative exploration and promote change. Il...

Object Relations and Self Psychology are two leading schools of psychological thought discussed in social work classrooms and applied by practitioners to a variety of social work populations. Yet both groups have lacked a basic manual for teaching and reference -- until now. For them, Dr. Eda G. Goldstein's book fills a void on two fronts: Part I provides a readable, systematic, and comprehensive review of object relations and self psychology, while Part II gives readers a friendl...

This book explores the nature of parent-infant psychotherapies, therapies that are a major segment of the rapidly growing, sprawling field of infant mental health. It examines the different elements that make up the parent-infant clinical system.

Constructivist psychotherapy focuses on the meaning that clients attribute to their world, and the way that this shapes their life and contributes to their difficulties. In this book, Robert A. Neimeyer, a leading figure in the field, provides a clear and accessible explanation of the key features of this approach.Constructivist Psychotherapy: Distinctive Features concentrates on the 30 key commitments that distinguish constructivism from other cognitive behavioural perspe...

Quickly acquire the knowledge and skills you need to confidently administer, score, and interpret a variety of storytelling techniquesStorytelling techniques are a popular projective approach for assessing many aspects of a person's personality, such as cognitive processes, emotional functioning, and self-regulation. The broad spectrum of techniques includes the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT—the most widely embraced), Roberts-2, and TEMAS (Tell-Me-A-Story). To us...

Desire, Self, Mind, and the Psychotherapies unifies psychological science with contemporary relational psychoanalysis, arguing that the disciplines can be integrated if the concept of repression is understood as motivated forgetting, creative aspects of unconscious processes are taken into account in cognitive science, and a "new experiences" model of change is acknowledged by psychoanalysts. Such a model of change allows for integration of behavioral, cognitive, visual, and other...