Object Relations Theories and Psychopathology: A Comprehensive Text

by Frank Summers

Book Overview

In Object Relations Theories and Psychopathology: A Comprehensive Text, Frank Summers provides thorough, lucid, and critically informed accounts of the work of major object relations theorists: Fairbairn, Guntrip, Klein, Winnicott, Kernberg, and Kohut. His expositions achieve distinction on two counts. First, the work of each object relations theorist is presented as a comprehensive whole, with separate sections expounding the theorist's ideas...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1138872458
• ISBN13: 9781138872455
• Release Date: June 2015
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 424 Pages
• Weight: 1.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Bough it for new but it was slightly used

Great condition but I thought I was buying [and paying] for new book. Good anyhow, arrived on time with no issues.

Object Relations Theories and Psychopatholgy

Dr. Summers bring to life a wonderfully comprehensive, detailed and intelligent text on object-relations. Although each chapter stands on its own merit, Dr. Summers is able to compare and integrate various theoretical perspectives at a very precise and deep level. He articulates clearly the subtle differences between various theoretical points of view, thus providing a useful text for the beginning and seasoned therapist alike. His chapter on Winnicott's thinking, for example, is one of the clearest disuccsions of this analyst that I have read. I recommend this book highly. Dr. Peter Shabad

Invaluable for students and professionals alike

This book is an invaluable introduction to or review of the works of the most important object relations theorists, including Fairbairn, Guntrip, Klein, Winnicott, Kohut, etc. Although it covers ground similar to that summarized in other works, including the until-now standard text by Greenberg & Mitchell, it is far superior in a variety of ways to the latter. It combines accesibility with accuracy and insight, and includes not only interpretive overviews, but a great deal of contextual material, including information on the influence of each writer under discussion and, most usefully, case material that elucidates the theoretical concepts discussed. Because of the clarity of the writing and the organic intertwining of theory and case discussion, this book is irreplaceable as a teaching text, appropriate for graduate students, psychoanalytic candidates, and even perhaps some advanced undergraduates studying psychotherapy theory and practice. I have used this book in my work teaching graduate clinical psychology students for several years, and the students are unanimous in their enthusiasm. Both they and I have clearly benefitted from Dr. Summers' insights.

Clinically Sophisticated and Highly Readable

Frank Summers' book is a carefully researched, highly thoughtful, clinically sophisticated, literate, and very readable discussion of the major object relations theories and their clinical implications. Reviewers from the fields of psychoanalysis, psychology,and social work have had high praise for Dr. Summers' book. Dr. Summers discusses six major theories/theorists, each in a separate chapter, including: Fairbairn and Guntrip, Klein, Winnicott, Kernberg, Kohut, and the "Interpersonalists" (Sullivan, Greenberg, Mitchell, and Levenson). He also provides in each chapter a discussion of how current followers of each theoretical system have expanded the theory, and then presents an even-handed critique of each point of view. Dr. Summers does an excellent job of teasing out the similarities and differences among these theories across four dimensions: (1) how they view psychological structure, (2) how they view development, (3) how they view psychopathology, and (4) the treatment process. Each chapter can stand alone as a discussion of that point of view. In the final chapter, Dr. Summers differentiates an object relations approach from both a classical model and an interpersonal model. He also attempts to integrate the theoretical and technical commonalities of the various object relations theories into an object relations paradigm for psychoanalysis. Harold Davis, in a review for the journal "Contemporary Psychology," remarked, "This is an audacious undertaking. It requires a wide-ranging mind and a comprehensive knowledge of various theorists, which he [Summers] possesses." Greg Bellow, in a review in the "Clinical Social Work Journal," says, "The depth at which he delves into conceptions and controversies about how treatment works as he bridges 'the entire scope of object relations theory' gives us a book of elegance and complexity." Dr. Summers is particularly interested in what makes the practice of these theories of object relations so different from each other, and he provides the reader with an opportunity to "step into the theoretical worldview of each theorist...to gain critical appreciation for the way each clinician thinks about and uses clinical material to further the therapeutic process." It is this special emphasis on psychopathology and treatment that is one of the significant contributions of this book. Harold Davis states, "One is struck by his knowledge of the clinical implications of different theories...this is a challenging work that deserves to become a basic reference on these main clinical theorists." Arthur Malin, in a review for the "Psychoanalytic Quarterly," similarly praises Summers' work: "This is an excellent overview for any psychoanalyst looking at the field today...[the book] offers readers an excellent review and an opportunity for rethinking their own conceptualizations in psychoanalysis, especially in the area of psychopathology and treatment." To q