The Inseparable Nature of Love and Aggression: Clinical and Theoretical Perspectives

Otto Kernberg is a towering figure in the field of psychoanalysis and has
accomplished seminal work in object relations and the treatment of borderline
and narcissistic patients. This volume collects his recent work in several
areas: severe personality disorders, couples in conflict, and religious
experience. In each area, he explores the relationship between the
psychoanalytic, clinical psychiatric, and neurobiological approaches, yielding
insights and analysis that are compelling, thought-provoking, and at times
startling in their penetrating brilliance. In addition, the book addresses the
challenges that psychoanalysis faces in the current medical environment, and the
need to strengthen its ties with academic institutions.

Beautifully
written, the book is designed to both provoke questions and provide
enlightenment on a variety of critical issues within psychotherapy.
Specifically, the volume: Explores new approaches to diagnosis and new
psychotherapeutic techniques to treat the most severe personality disorders,
particularly severe narcissistic psychopathology, based on new research
findings; Relates psychoanalytic theory to neurobiological findings by
illuminating the influences of neurobiological structures and intrapsychic
conflicts on the development of the personality; Examines the psychoanalytic
and neurobiological underpinnings of sexual love, from the organization of brain
structures and neurotransmitters to the overall systems of erotic activation,
attachment and bonding. This systematic approach provides insight into the
nature of passionate love and the psychodynamic features of the love
relationship; Addresses psychodynamic factors in the religious experience and
the search for universal ethical values, and explores the crucial function of
religious experience in dealing with the ideological challenges of social life;
and Identifies the serious problems facing psychoanalytic education,
institutions, and the profession of psychoanalysis, and proposes solutions to
energize the field and increase its contributions to scientific research and
progress.

In The Inseparable Nature of Love and Aggression: Clinical and
Theoretical Perspectives, Kernberg demonstrates his belief that the
collaboration of psychoanalysis and neurobiology has the potential to
significantly advance our understanding of the human mind. The full spectrum of
mental health clinicians, as well as educated general readers, will find this to
be a work of creativity and substance.