Feeling, Being and the Sense of Self weaves together three main threads. The first concerns identity and the significance of variations in the individual's sense of self. The second is an account of the nature and functioning of the non-verbal self, rooted in the nature of affect and the functioning of an -affective appraisal mechanism-, located in the brainstem and the right hemisphere of the brain. The third is a theory of narcissism, which is understood to underlie all other psychopathologies, and to follow from the functioning of the affective appraisal mechanism.

While the...

This book explores the roots of borderline states of mind in early relational trauma and shows how it is possible, and necessary, to visit -the darkest places- in order to work through these traumas. This is despite the fact that re-experiencing such traumas is unbearable for the patient and they naturally want to enlist the analyst in ensuring that they will never be experienced again. This is the backdrop for the extreme pressures and roles that are constellated in the analysis that can lead to impasse or breakdown of the analytic relationship.

The author explores how these areas...