Psychoanalytic Diagnosis, 2ed: Understanding Personality Structure in the Clinical Process

This acclaimed clinical guide and widely adopted text has filled a key need in the field since its original publication. Nancy McWilliams makes psychoanalytic personality theory and its implications for practice accessible to practitioners of all levels of experience. She explains major character types and demonstrates specific ways that understanding the patient's individual personality structure can influence the therapist's focus and style of intervention. Guidelines are provided for developing a systematic yet flexible diagnostic formulation and using it to inform treatment. Highly readable, the book features a wealth of illustrative clinical examples.

New to This Edition:

• Reflects the ongoing development of the author's approach over nearly two decades.
• Incorporates important advances in attachment theory, neuroscience, and the study of trauma.
• Coverage of the contemporary relational movement in psychoanalysis.

This book will be helpful to clinicians and graduate students in all of the mental health disciplines, including clinical psychology, social work, psychiatry, and counselling.

Table of Contents

Introduction

I. Conceptual Issues

1. Why Diagnose?
2. Psychoanalytic Character Diagnosis
3. Developmental Levels of Personality Organization
4. Implications of Developmental Levels of Organization
5. Primary Defensive Processes
6. Secondary Defensive Processes

II. Types of Character Organization

7. Psychopathic (Antisocial) Personalities
8. Narcissistic Personalities
9. Schizoid Personalities
10. Paranoid Personalities
11. Depressive and Manic Personalities
12. Masochistic (Self-Defeating) Personalities
13. Obsessive and Compulsive Personalities
14. Hysterical (Histrionic) Personalities
15. Dissociative Psychologies

Appendix. Suggested Diagnostic Interview Format

"This is a book for all clinicians who aspire to understand their clients deeply and help them live more richly and authentically. McWilliams synthesizes a century of cumulative clinical wisdom and offers it in a form that is accessible and useful to clinicians of any theoretical persuasion. The first edition of Psychoanalytic Diagnosis was an instant classic; the second edition is exceptionally lucid and masterful. This is McWilliams, master clinician and teacher, at her very best."
- Jonathan Shedler, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado School of Medicine

"In revising Psychoanalytic Diagnosis, McWilliams has surpassed herself. The original—deservedly regarded as a classic—was an integrative tour de force; the second edition is even better. Informed by current advances in neuroscience and infant research, and reshaped in light of the 'relational turn' in contemporary psychoanalysis, this book distills a vast literature on development, psychopathology, and therapy into an extraordinarily useful map of the clinical terrain. It is at once an indispensable resource for beginning therapists, a valuable teaching tool, and a comprehensive reference for seasoned clinicians."
- David J. Wallin, PhD, private practice, Mill Valley and Albany, California

"With humor, warmth, and enthusiasm, Dr. McWilliams instills confidence while making the book a delectable read. There is no doubt that the goal of 'enhancing practice' has been achieved. This book is highly recommended to any clinician-in-training as a foundation for psychoanalytic thinking and also to any practicing therapist as a well-structured and comprehensive resource....This book will be a rich addition to learning about psychoanalytic diagnosis (and psychoanalytic concepts) for any younger mental health professional who is seriously interested in depth psychology. It will also be a valuable tool for more experienced clinicians and educators who would like assistance in translating fairly complex concepts into language in a framework that can be appreciated by learners of a variety of different levels of sophistication and disciplinary backgrounds."
- Journal of Clinical Psychiatry