Narcissism in the Epistemological Pit

For some people, the move from dualistic to relativistic epistemological thought is accompanied by significant psychological distress. Although there are several possible sources of psychological difficulty in stage transition, we argue that long-standing deficits in object relations can predispose a person to clinical crisis during particular life phase and cognitive stage transitions. Specifically, a person is likely to experience clinical crisis during a particular life phase or stage transition if that developmental advance requires abandoning strategies that have been used to shore up faulty self and object representations. The life phase move from adolescence to adulthood and the cognitive stage shift from dualistic to relativistic thought often pose particular difficulty for persons with a narcissistic personality organization. The epistemological move to relativism can be particularly traumatic when adolescents have cathected their own intellectual products (ideas, ideologies) as idealized self-objects. A case study is presented to illustrate the clinical crisis that can be precipitated by the narcissistic adolescent's loss of intrapsychic supports in the move to adulthood and to committed relativism.     

Autism,early narcissistic injury and self‐organization: a role for the image of the mother’s eyes?

Holland elucidated the new paradigm of self-organization in complex adaptive systems. This paradigm holds for all living systems, including the personality. In conjunction with the theory of archetypes, self-organization suggests two radical hypotheses, one about early development, the other about the origins of autism. Autism is associated with several medical conditions, with genetic markers, and with infant visual deprivation. However none of these factors is either necessary or sufficient to cause autism. It is hypothesized that each of these factors increases the likelihood of a primary psychological deficit: failure to acquire, or retain, the image of the mother's eyes. This hypothesis was initially derived from analytic work with patients who have early narcissistic injury and with patients who have mild autistic traits. Both diagnoses may arise from the same initial disturbance: Symington argued that autism is an extreme form of infantile narcissism. Indirect evidence for the image-of-the-eyes hypotheses comes from the evolution of primates, from infant-mother observations, from observations of infant vision, and from experiments on vision in other vertebrates. Byrd recently confirmed that the incidence of autism is increasing dramatically. The image-of-the-eyes hypotheses suggest that this increase may be linked to increased use of non-maternal childcare for young infants.     

John Nash's Postdelusional Period: A Case of Transformed Narcissism

This article concludes the psychoanalytic study of mathematical genius John Nash begun in previous articles (Capps 2003a, 2003b) by focusing on his recovery from paranoid schizophrenia after more than a decade of being under control of his delusions. I develop the idea that Nash was a highly narcissistic personality, the primary focus of which was his beautiful mind, in the years preceding his mental breakdown. I attribute his recovery primarily to the transformation of his narcissistic personality and support this attribution by means of Heinz Kohut's identification of five major expressions of transformed narcissism in his classic essay on the forms and transformations of narcissism.     

The future of analysis

The aim of analysis is to enable our patients to differentiate themselves from their past. The question we face as analysts is whether we are in fact neurotically bound to repeat the past. This paper addresses this question by considering some of the reasons that there is a 'crisis in analysis'. Two central problems within the practice of analysis are identified as contributing to this 'crisis': 1) a view of the patient as 'enemy', or as innately destructive; and 2) a trend towards here-and-now interpretations within the transference which disregards history and the role of external reality. The danger of such an approach is that it does not allow patients to separate from their hateful primal scenes and to become free of neurotic guilt. When we are anxious about our own destructiveness and aggression and do not link this to a failure to form a loving relation, we run the risk of fostering compliance and conformity within our patients and within our own professional societies. In contrast, it is the recognition of the past and its influence on the present that makes analysis a tool for revolution.     

Creating Passion: An Internet Love Story

This is an account of an Internet romance—a kind of contemporary fable which is only a recent version of an old story: ancient myths and modern ones attest to the illusional nature of love and the beloved. This paper comments on the way the contemporary medium, the Internet, can be a kind of narcissistic particle accelerator—magnifying the power of otherwise weak and tiny impulses, supporting invention, inviting acting out, flattering grandiosity, and lending itself to collisions with the particulate impulses of others. The paper addresses the lovers' joint narrative in general—the way lovers become co-authors of a story of the occasion of and the reason for their passion. It comments on the selfobject function this narrative serves: bringing self-definition, cohesion and vitality to the experience of self for each of the partners.     

Unresolved Childhood Sexual Abuse and Older Adults: Late-Life Vulnerabilities

Several long-term correlates of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) have been identified, including depression, fear, anxiety, guilt, anger, and poor interpersonal functioning (e.g., Browne and Finkelhor, 1986). However, little is know about how CSA survivors fare in old age. This article addresses the impact of unresolved CSA on late-life (emotional, cognitive, and behavioral) functioning. Three case studies of older adults ages 60 and older who were struggling with unresolved CSA are presented. Two observed stressors (loss of social support and declining health) and one developmental task (reminiscence or life-review) appear to be linked to exacerbated vulnerabilities in older survivors. Specifically, because CSA may arrest specific childhood developmental tasks (e.g., ability to form secure attachments, autonomy) or facilitate development of coping strategies that are maladaptive when outside of an abusive environment (e.g., generalized interpersonal distrust, avoidance, dissociation), the survivor may be at risk for developmental vulnerabilities for dysfunction in adulthood. These vulnerabilities may exacerbate unresolved CSA, particularly when the adult encounters stressors or developmental tasks that exceed his or her capacity for adaptive coping. Recommendations for mental health professionals and future research are suggested.     

The double-edged pen: Omnipotent fantasies in the creativity and addictions of Stephen King

The legendary debate over whether a connection between creativity and addictions exists is one that is shrouded in mystery and intrigue, but also one that continuously returns to the circuitous metaphor of the chicken and the egg. In an effort to better understand nuances in the relationship between creativity and addictions, this paper examines the life of Stephen King, and the omnipotent fantasies from which both his creative processes and addictive behaviours emerged. Since the early twentieth century, psychodynamic thinkers have highlighted omnipotent fantasies as a psychological force driving creative processes as efforts towards personal transformation. Similarly, numerous psychodynamic theories have highlighted omnipotent fantasies as playing a cardinal role in the psychological processes that propel substance abuse. And yet, the construct of omnipotence has yet to be examined as a theoretical bridge to bind such theories of creativity and substance abuse together. While fostering personal meaning and self-transformation when manifested in his creative writing processes, omnipotent fantasies have also lead Stephen King down a precarious path of addictive behaviours. Through a narrative analysis of the life of Stephen King, who has written in great depth about both his creativity and substance abuse, I will illustrate how omnipotent fantasies often shape and foster both healthy, creative processes towards growth and maladaptive, addictive impulses towards self-destruction.     

Reality Transformed to Dream

This article is based on a lecture held during two public seminars in Stockholm (May 2005 and January 2006) arranged by the Swedish Psychoanalytic Association to commemorate Ludvig Igra and his achievements in the field of psychoanalysis. The author addresses the often painful phenomenon that the patient is not getting better but rather worse just when the analyst thinks he has understood and productively interpreted the unconscious dynamic behind the patient's symptoms. Through the use of a clinical example, the concept of negative therapeutic reaction is discussed with special reference to Abraham, Rosenfeld, Joseph and Igra.