(The New Library of Psychoanalysis)
by Sharon Numa (Editor)
On Being One’s Self
emerges from discussions in John Steiner’s Workshop and investigates
the meanings of self and identity, including the many ways in which the
development of personal identity can be subverted, interrogating what
can facilitate the development of a reasonably stable identity.
The
variety of problems that can arise in relation to the development of a
unique identity is reflected in rich clinical material that vividly
illustrates ‘identities’ felt to be weak, unformed, fluid or brittle, in
many cases demonstrating how the sense of self is held together by
pathological defences and organisations. The book examines several
long-term adult analytic cases, suggesting that a mature personal
identity involves not only ‘knowing who one is’ but also the capacity
for empathic identification with the experience of others as separate
human beings.
The question of ‘having’ an identity,
or the fear of losing it, is a central concern of individuals, and this
volume, which will be of interest to psychoanalysts and psychotherapists
alike, considers these issues by looking at the deepest conflicts
around self and identity as they emerge and are relived in the
transference relationship.
