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Transference‐counter‐transference constellations and enactments in the psychotherapy of destructive narcissism
Author(s) -
Ivey Gavin
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
british journal of medical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.102
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 2044-8341
pISSN - 0007-1129
DOI - 10.1348/000711299159826
Subject(s) - narcissism , psychology , countertransference , alliance , psychoanalytic theory , psychotherapist , psychoanalysis , object (grammar) , psychoanalytic therapy , object relations theory , philosophy , linguistics , political science , law
Destructive narcissism, characterized by a perverse alliance between the self and an omnipotent bad internal object, constitutes a serious obstacle to psychoanalytic psychotherapy. This paper draws together various object relations theories of destructive narcissism, and presents a case study of a failed psychotherapy to illustrate the transference‐counter‐transference constellations and their associated enactments in treatment of this disturbance.