Narcissistic Personality Disorder

This volume presents significant recent advances in research and clinical practice in the area of pathological narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). Originally published as a Special Supplement to the Journal of Personality Disorders, the book brings together leading clinical experts. Chapters examine the neuroscientific and psychological underpinnings of NPD, describe cutting-edge diagnostic approaches, and explore the complexities of the therapeutic relationship. Addressing the "dos and don'ts" of clinical work with this population, the book reviews the status of specialized treatment strategies--such as transference-focused psychotherapy and mentalization-based treatment--and identifies important directions for future research.

Elsa Ronningstam, PhD, is a clinical psychologist in the Gunderson Outpatient Program and the Adult Outpatient Services at McLean Hospital, and Associate Professor of Psychology (part-time) in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. She is also a psychoanalyst, a member of the American Psychoanalytic Association, and a faculty member of the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute. As a longstanding member of the Boston Suicide Study Group, Dr. Ronningstam is actively working on identifying, understanding, and treating suicidality. Dr. Ronningstam’s primary specialty is diagnosis and treatment of narcissistic personality. She has authored over 100 publications and given over 150 presentations, lectures, and courses, both nationally and internationally. She was the recipient of a 2014 prize for outstanding service in McLean’s borderline personality disorder programs.

1. Introduction, Elsa Ronningstam
2. Narcissistic and Borderline Personality Disorders: Relationship with Oxidative Stress, Royce J. Lee, David Gozal, Emil F. Coccaro, & Jennifer Fanning
3. Perfectionism, Shame, and Aggression in Depressive Patients with Narcissistic Personality Disorder, Jane Fjermestad-Noll, Elsa Ronningstam, Bo S. Bach, Bent Rosenbaum, & Erik Simonsen
4. Clinician Emotional Responses and Therapeutic Alliance When Treating Adolescent Patients with Narcissistic Personality Disorder Subtypes: A Clinically Meaningful Empirical Investigation, Annalisa Tanzilli & Ivan Gualco
5. Processes of Change in Psychotherapy for Narcissistic Personality Disorder, Pauline Maillard, Laurent Berthoud, Stéphane Kolly, Rainer Sachse, & Ueli Kramer
6. Internal Processing in Patients with Pathological Narcissism or Narcissistic Personality Disorder: Implications for Alliance Building and Therapeutic Strategies, Elsa Ronningstam
7. Diagnosis, Classification, and Assessment of Narcissistic Personality Disorder within the Framework of Object Relations Theory, Eve Caligor & Barry L. Stern
8. Dos and Don'ts in Treatments of Patients with Narcissistic Personality Disorder, Igor Weinberg & Elsa Ronningstam
9. Principles of Psychodynamic Treatment for Patients with Narcissistic Personality Disorder,
Holly Crisp & Glen O. Gabbard
10. Transference-Focused Psychotherapy for Narcissistic Personality Disorder: An Object Relations Approach, Diana Diamond & Richard G. Hersh
11. Mentalization-Based Treatment for Pathological Narcissism, Robert P. Drozek & Brandon T. Unruh
- Commentary: Complexity, Pleomorphism, and Dynamic Processes in Narcissistic Personality Disorder, Aaron L. Pincus
- Commentary: Critical Distinctions Between Vulnerable Narcissism and Depressive Personalities, Steven K. Huprich
- Commentary: Narcissistic Personality Disorder: A Coming of Age, Lois Choi-Kain