The narcissistic therapist meets a narcissistic patient

The presence of narcissism in both therapist and patient results in a collusion that preserves the narcissistic integrity of the therapist and validates the narcissistic injury of the patient. Not only is the narcissistic behavior of the patient condoned, but narcissistic excesses in the therapist are tolerated. The unconscious identification on the part of the therapist with the patient produces anxiety in the therapist which results in treatment that intensifies the pathology of the patient.     

Racial differences in narcissistic tendencies

Black individuals have been found to report the highest levels of self-esteem of any racial group in the United States. The purpose of the present research was to examine whether Black individuals also report higher levels of narcissism than White individuals. Study 1 (N = 367) found that Black individuals reported higher levels of narcissism than White individuals even when controlling for gender, self-esteem level, and socially desirable response tendencies. Study 2 (N = 967) and Study 3 (N = 315) found similar results such that Black individuals reported higher levels of narcissism than White individuals on the narcissism measures that captured less pathological facets of this construct. Study 3 also included indicators of psychological adjustment and found that the pathological aspects of narcissism were more strongly associated with maladjustment for Black individuals than for White individuals. The implications of these results for understanding the Black self-esteem advantage are discussed.     

The almost untreatable narcissistic patient

Clinical experience in the Personality Disorders Institute at Weill Cornell Medical College suggests that patients with borderline personality organization and a narcissistic personality disorder have a more serious prognosis than all other personality disorders functioning at the borderline level, and that those who in addition present significant antisocial behavior have an even worse prognosis (Clarkin, Yeomans, and Kernberg 1999; Stone 1990). This negative trend culminates in a group of practically untreatable patients with antisocial personality disorder, who represent the most severe cases of pathological narcissism. There are also patients with severe narcissistic personality disorder, functioning at an overt borderline level with significant antisocial features, but not presenting an antisocial personality disorder proper, who at times respond to treatment, while others do not. These patients are explored here, with a focus on particular psychotherapeutic techniques that have proven helpful, as well as on the limits of these technical approaches.     

Neediness and narcissistic defensive action

Action-prone patients are difficult for most analysts to treat. The author describes patients who act in treatment by pressuring themselves and the analyst to get rid of what is wrong, to change the imperative, life-and-death qualities of need into something else. Viewing neediness in treatment as narcissistic defensive action helps the analyst address the patient's pressured flight away from focusing on the need of the analyst and toward action aimed at riddance. Ghent's (1992, 1993) views on neediness are discussed and seen to be complemented by a view of action as protection against narcissistic vulnerability. Analysts' intolerance, vulnerabilities, and needs with such patients are considered.     

Father hunger and narcissistic deformation

The author advances the hypothesis that paternal availability and the relationship between the mother and father are crucial components of evolving character structure in children. He proposes that a kind of narcissistic pathology featuring perverse sexuality may eventuate in the absence of paternal availability and in the presence of a disordered relationship between the parents. He also suggests that the ways in which aggression is or is not modulated and organized are crucial components of this evolving disorder, and that boys are more susceptible to its full manifestation and expression than are girls.     

论唐君毅的伦理观

唐君毅是中国现代史上著名的哲学家,也是现代新儒家的代表人物之一。他一生从事于新儒学的研究和宣传,为新儒学的发展作出了卓越的贡献。他关于中国儒家伦理精神的阐释,在当今时代仍然具有积极的启迪意义。     

On banishing ethics from our minds

The Journal of Value Inquiry -     

On ethics in personal construct theory

Abstract

In personal construct theory, people interpret the world in unique ways. Constructions are subjective representations rather than objective truths. This means that our ethical constructions are (a) potentially wrong, if there is an external moral reality we cannot access, or (b) no more inherently defensible than others’ ethical constructions, if all notions of “right” and “wrong” are personally constructed. Constructions promoting violence, hatred, and intolerance are as viable as those promoting peace, love, and acceptance. To overcome this ethical quandary individuals must create meaningful ethical constructions and have faith in them. This is difficult because, as constructivists, we see each person's constructions as legitimate and our own world views as merely constructions, themselves. Implications for moral righteousness are discussed.