Overview

Twenty-nine years since the first edition was released, Frank Summers has renewed his lucid and thorough clarification of the various object relations theories to demonstrate their evolution and continued significance for therapeutic practice. This volume includes elucidation of the major scholarship that has advanced the ideas of object relations theorists such as Fairbairn, Klein, Winnicott, Kernberg, and Kohut, since the publication of the first edition. A thorough and detailed new chapter devoted to the emergence and development of relational psychoanalysis has been added to make this volume a “state of the art” articulation of current object relations thinking. The ideas and assumptions of each theory relative to metapsychology, psychopathology, and treatment are expounded, alongside a critical evaluation of the strengths and limitations of each approach. With extensive use of historic case material, Summers shows how each object relations theory yields specific clinical approaches to a variety of syndromes, and how these approaches entail specific modifications in clinical technique. This volume will be essential reading for all analysts, psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers who wish to familiarize themselves with object relations theories in general, sharpen their understanding of the work of specific object relations theorists, or enhance their ability to employ these theories in their clinical work.

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9781032779300

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Reviews

'This scholarly, extraordinarily thorough review of object relations theories is a significantly updated version of Summers's first volume. Integrating theory and its clinical implications and locating each theory within its historical context, Summers helps the reader (whether beginning or advanced) to understand each theory's underlying assumptions and their implications for the clinical moment. A must-read for those interested in an in-depth understanding of the breadth of object relations thinking.' Joyce Slochower, PhD, ABPP 'This book is a feast for the mind. Readers of all persuasions, from those new to psychoanalytic thought to those immersed in it for decades, will find nourishment on every page. The original edition was a tour de force; this revision is even better. Summers's improvements, especially his discussion of the relational movement, serve up contemporary psychoanalysis in all its depth and nuance. Simultaneously scholarly and readable, this volume emphasises the practical clinical implications of theory, helping us all to become better therapists.' Nancy McWilliams, emerita visiting professor, Rutgers Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology 'Dr Summers not only carefully and clearly summarises major psychoanalytic theories, but also does what no other author has done: he articulately spells out the specific treatment implications of each theory he discusses. This alone makes his book extremely useful and even invaluable.' Morris Eagle, professor emeritus, Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies, Adelphi University

Author Information

Frank Summers, Ph.D., ABPP, is a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst; professor of clinical psychiatry and the behavioural sciences, Northwestern University; and a supervising and training analyst, Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute and Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis. A former president of the Division of Psychoanalysis of the American Psychological Association, he maintains a psychoanalytic therapy practice in Chicago, Illinois.

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