Object Relations Theories and Psychopathology: A Comprehensive Text / Edition 1

by Frank Summers

Overview

In Object Relations Theories and Psychopathology: A Comprehensive Text, Frank Summers provides thorough, lucid, and critically informed accounts of the work of major object relations theorists: Fairbairn, Guntrip, Klein, Winnicott, Kernberg, and Kohut. His expositions achieve distinction on two counts. First, the work of each object relations theorist is presented as a comprehensive whole, with separate sections expounding the theorist's ideas and assumptions about metapsychology, development, psychopathology, and treatment, with a critical evaluation of the strengths and limitations of the theory in question. Second, the emphasis in each chapter is on issues of clinical understanding and technique. Making extensive use of case material provided by each of the theorists, he shows how each object relations theory yields specific clinical approaches to a variety of syndromes, and how these approaches entail specific modifications in clinical technique.

Beyond his detailed attention to the theoretical and technical differences among object relations theories, Summers' penultimate chapter discusses the similarities and differences of object relations and interpersonal theories. And his concluding chapter outlines a pragmatic object relations approach to development, psychopathology, and technique that combines elements of all object relations theories without opting for any single theory.

Object Relations Theories and Psychopathology is that rare event in psychoanalytic publishing: a substantial, readable text that surveys a broad expanse of theoretical and clinical landscape with erudition, sympathy, and critical perspective. It will be essential reading for all analysts, psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers who wish to familiarize themselves with object relations theories in general, sharpen their understanding of the work of specific object relations theorists, or enhance their ability to employ these theories in their clinical work.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780881631555
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	04/01/1994
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	424
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Frank Summers, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst, is a training and supervising analyst at the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis and an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University Medical School. A member of the faculties of the Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis, the Minnesota Psychoanalytic Institute, and the Wisconsin Psychoanalytic Institute, Dr. Summers maintains a private practice of psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic therapy in Chicago, IL.

Table of Contents

The Origins of Object Relations Theories. The Work of W. R. D. Fairbairn and Harry Guntrip. The Work of Melanie Klein. The Work of D. W. Winnicott. The Work of Otto Kernberg. The Work of Heinz Kohut. The Interpersonalists. An Object Relations Paradigm for Psychoanalysis.

Editorial Reviews

'This scholarly, extraordinarily thorough review of object relations theories is a significantly updated version of Summers's first volume. Integrating theory and its clinical implications and locating each theory within its historical context, Summers helps the reader (whether beginning or advanced) to understand each theory's underlying assumptions and their implications for the clinical moment. A must-read for those interested in an in-depth understanding of the breadth of object relations thinking.'

Joyce Slochower, PhD, ABPP

'This book is a feast for the mind. Readers of all persuasions, from those new to psychoanalytic thought to those immersed in it for decades, will find nourishment on every page. The original edition was a tour de force; this revision is even better. Summers's improvements, especially his discussion of the relational movement, serve up contemporary psychoanalysis in all its depth and nuance. Simultaneously scholarly and readable, this volume emphasises the practical clinical implications of theory, helping us all to become better therapists.'

Nancy McWilliams, emerita visiting professor, Rutgers Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology

'Dr Summers not only carefully and clearly summarises major psychoanalytic theories, but also does what no other author has done: he articulately spells out the specific treatment implications of each theory he discusses. This alone makes his book extremely useful and even invaluable.'

Morris Eagle, professor emeritus, Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies, Adelphi University

From the Publisher