Am J Psychiatry 1986; 143:430-436
Copyright © 1986 by American Psychiatric Association
Psychotherapy of the narcissistic personality disorder patient: two contrasting approaches
G Adler
The differences in the theoretical and clinical approaches that Kernberg
and Kohut have defined are used to discuss the psychodynamics and
psychotherapy of the narcissistic personality disorder patient. Their
contrasting contributions help clarify the nature of these patients'
difficulties, the possibility that there is a spectrum of narcissistic
disorders, the effect of existing theory and the personalities of
clinicians-theoreticians on the collection of clinical data, and the
effects of theoretical formulations on the psychotherapeutic process.
