The Analysis of the Self A Systematic Approach to the Psychoanalytic Treatment of Narcissistic Personality Disorders

by Heinz Kohut

Psychoanalyst, teacher, and scholar, Heinz Kohut was one of the twentieth century's most important intellectuals. A rebel according to many mainstream psychoanalysts, Kohut challenged Freudian orthodoxy and the medical control of psychoanalysis in America. In his highly influential book The Analysis of the Self, Kohut established the industry standard of the treatment of personality disorders for a generation of analysts. This volume, best known for its groundbreaking analysis of narcissism, is essential reading for scholars and practitioners seeking to understand human personality in its many incarnations.

 

�Kohut has done for narcissism what the novelist Charles Dickens did for poverty in the nineteenth century. Everyone always knew that both existed and were a problem. . . . The undoubted originality is to have put it together in a form which carries appeal to action.��International Journal of Psychoanalysis

Genres: Psychology, Psychoanalysis, Nonfiction, Philosophy

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Heinz Kohut was an Austrian-born American psychoanalyst best known for his development of Self psychology, an influential school of thought within psychodynamic /psychoanalytic theory which helped transform the modern practice of analytic and dynamic treatment approaches.

Reviews

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Richly imaginative, but very difficult to read. Once you find the right key for the whole, you will find treasure there - but treasure that you have to translate into the modern day. It is ultimately too dependent on Freud (for which Kohut later atones), but is worth reading for the insights of Kohut that shine through.

[Mawr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though tortuously wordy, this book gives some interesting insights into the inner workings of the mind of narcissistically disordered people. In particular, there's the notion of how the narcissist denies his grandiosity either through (horizontal) repression or through a "vertical split" of disavowal.

Also, there's the dual nature of the narcissistic configuration, namely, the coupling of the idealized parent imago and the grandiose self. This coupling reminds us that the human personality must be understood in terms of a relation between self and other, of subject and object (in particular, the parent/child relationship); in this way, I find Kohut's 'Self Psychology' easy to harmonize with object relations theory.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Kohut’s The Analysis of the Self has been a profound experience—tears streaming as I turn each page. Despite the often confusing Chinese translation, working through it felt truly enlightening. It also made me appreciate why psychoanalytic jargon exists: it’s meant to evoke a complex blend of emotions and meanings for the “unspeakable.” Kohut’s humorous notes on these terms were a nice touch.

While behavioral therapies are great for quick social rehabilitation and short-term pain relief, symptom-focused approaches alone can’t address the complexities of the mind or personality disorders. As Chizuko Ueno put it, the greatest mystery is oneself, and life is about unraveling it.

Interestingly, Kohut’s influence appears stronger and more widely discussed in China than in the West.

[Sergey Kochergan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dealing with Narcissism

[Sheziss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es un autor muy exigente y aborda complejos muy difíciles de comprender pero, una vez que das con la clave del asunto, es tremendamente satisfactorio leerlo e impregnarte de sus ideas. Muy crack este señor.

Tuve oportunidad de ver un discurso suyo en la última conferencia que dio, días antes de fallecer, hablando de la empatía.

[Marina Andronova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Хорошая книга для всех, кто хочет разобраться в феномене личностного нарциссизма с психоаналитической точки зрения. В центре повествования находятся феномен самости и виды переноса, формирующиеся в том случае, если личность имеет нарциссические дефициты.

[Maggi Horseman · Rating 3 out of 5]

very useful information about early attachment trauma and narcissism. The book uses old language and a dense writing style that make it very difficult to digest.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

A painful read that is very much of its time, hence several instances where Kohut describes homosexual feelings as the symptom of a narcissistic defect. Nevertheless some instructive clinical vignettes and an interesting attempt to understand the vulnerability that lies at the heart of narcissism and how to heal narcissistic wounds. Kohut holds that this comes about primarily through interpretation, a view that underestimates the importance of the therapist's empathic holding, although he does acknowledge the need for the therapist to accept the patient's idealisation or grandiosity without shaming him/her.

[Gideon Faulconer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though I'm a senior graduating with a B.S. in Psychology, this book was barely accessible. However, armed with time, reading deadlines, and the APA online dictionary I was able to understand a lot of the concepts and they are fascinating. There's a lot that's really only applicable to narcissistic personality disorder, and a lot that can be extrapolated for understanding all of humanity and the workings of the psyche with more insight. Worth a read if you have time to invest in really studying or if you're well versed in early psychoanalytic texts.

[Si-Sena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the fact that it's a difficult read without internalizing Kohut's terminology and that he uses long, complex and full-of-terminological-words sentences almost throughout the whole book, the ideas he has will definitely broaden one's horizon. Even though the developments in psychology mark some aspects of the book as out of date, Kohut's in-depth analyses will probably be still motivating you to see and think further.

[Mariana Elizondo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me tardé mucho en leerlo, Kohut es gran expositor, pero tiene un tinte melancólico que da mucho sueño.

[Menoedh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seperti semua buku tokoh-tokoh terkenal psikoanalisa, sangat baik kalau sebelum baca buku ini, kalian ngerti dulu konsep-konsep utama psikoanalisa punya Freud. Karena KOhut make some of the theme lebih luas. Khususnya tentang ide transference. it blew me away.

[Jfish938 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kohut's groundbreaking re-definition of Narcisisim.