Citation

Ivey G. Br. J. Med. Psychol. 1999; 72 ( Pt 1): 63-74.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1999, British Psychological Society)

DOI

10.1348/000711299159826

PMID

10194573

Abstract

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.

Language: en

Keywords

Countertransference; Depressive Disorder; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Narcissism; Professional-Patient Relations; Psychoanalytic Therapy; Self-Injurious Behavior; Suicide