Books / Psychodynamic & attachment
The Analysis of the Self: A Systematic Approach to the Psychoanalytic Treatment of Narcissistic Personality Disorders
Heinz Kohut’s The Analysis of the Self (1971) presents a psychoanalytic account of narcissistic personality disorders and therapeutic relationships.
Book details
Author of listed edition: Heinz Kohut
Edition: First published in 1971
Publisher: International Universities Press
Edition year: 1971
Language and origin: English (United States)
Form and genre: Clinical & Theoretical Monograph
Level: Advanced
Historical era: 1960–1979 · Humanistic, Cognitive & Systemic Turn
Covers: Kohut’s account of narcissistic personality disorders; Mirror and idealising transferences; Psychoanalytic treatment
APA 7th reference: Kohut, H. (1971). The analysis of the self: A systematic approach to the psychoanalytic treatment of narcissistic personality disorders. International Universities Press.
What it is
Published in 1971, this book presents Kohut’s psychoanalytic approach to narcissistic personality disorders. A library catalogue identifies the International Universities Press edition.
What it covers
The catalogue and contents describe mirror and idealising transferences and Kohut’s approach to the therapeutic process. These are features of a psychoanalytic theory, not independently established mechanisms of change.
Reading this record
This historical and bibliographic description draws on catalogue information and a short excerpt. The complete book was not reviewed. Its clinical interpretations do not establish a single cause of narcissistic personality disorder or guarantee an outcome for any patient.
Paired academic and clinical scholarship
Paired work: Treating the Self: Elements of Clinical Self Psychology (Ernest S. Wolf, 1988)
Reference: Wolf, E. S. (1988). Treating the self: Elements of clinical self psychology. Guilford Press.
A later clinical text presents Wolf’s account of self psychology; its description is not an independent test of the theory.
Sources and inspection notes
Supports: Catalogue identifies the author, 1971 publication, publisher and contents; the full book was not reviewed.
Kohut, H. (1971). The analysis of the self. Excerpt.
Supports: Brief excerpt and bibliographic details from the original work; not an independent test of its clinical theory.
Wolf, E. S. (1988). Treating the self: Elements of clinical self psychology. Guilford Press.
Supports: Publisher description of a later clinical account; full text not reviewed.