Psychoanalytic Diagnosis, Second Edition; Understanding Personality Structure in the Clinical Process

An excellent introduction for students of psychoanalytic diagnostic thinking, this book clearly explicates the major clinically important character types and suggests how an appreciation of the patients's individual personality structure should influence the therapist's focus and style of intervention. Eschewing the dense jargon that often discourages beginning therapists, the book is engagingly written and includes numerous vignettes that bring concepts to life. Psychoanalytic Diagnosis will be of interest to psychotherapists, psychologists, and clinical therapists. It is ideal for beginning therapists and students of psychotherapy and psychology.

Nancy McWilliams, PhD, teaches in the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and has a private practice in Flemington, New Jersey. She is a former president of the Division of Psychoanalysis (39) of the American Psychological Association and is on the editorial board of Psychoanalytic Psychology. Dr. McWilliams\u2019s books have been translated into 14 languages, and she has lectured widely both nationally and internationally. She is a recipient of honors including the Rosalee Weiss Award for contributions to practice from the Division of Independent Practitioners of the American Psychological Association; Honorary Membership in the American Psychoanalytic Association; and the Robert S. Wallerstein Visiting Scholar Lectureship in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis at the University of California, San Francisco. A graduate of the National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis, Dr. McWilliams is also affiliated with the Center for Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy of New Jersey and the National Training Program of the National Institute for the Psychotherapies in New York City.

Introduction I. Conceptual Issues 1. Why Diagnose? 2. Psychoanalytic Character Diagnosis 3. Developmental Levels of Personality Organization 4. Implications of Developmental Levels of Organization 5. Primary Defensive Processes 6. Secondary Defensive Processes II. Types of Character Organization 7. Psychopathic (Antisocial) Personalities 8. Narcissistic Personalities 9. Schizoid Personalities 10. Paranoid Personalities 11. Depressive and Manic Personalities 12. Masochistic (Self-Defeating) Personalities 13. Obsessive and Compulsive Personalities 14. Hysterical (Histrionic) Personalities 15. Dissociative Psychologies Appendix. Suggested Diagnostic Interview Format