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Understanding Narcissism is the second book in the monograph series created through the auspices of the Society of Analytical Psychology (SAP). Hazel Robinson of the SAP is series editor as well as co-author of this volume. In her preface, Robinson states that the monographs in this series are being ‘produced primarily for the benefit of trainees on psychotherapy and psychodynamic counselling courses’ (ix). Thus, the intended audience is relatively naïve in terms of theory and practice of psychotherapy. In fact, Robinson states explicitly that although some of the clinical material is drawn from analytic work, the focus of the book is directed toward psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy. The intent then is to produce brief volumes that focus on clinical phenomena such as narcissism or as in the first of the series, perversion, and summarize clinical and theoretical material pertinent to these phenomena for the relatively uninitiated. The clinical vignettes offer a feel of what it is like to sit with individuals who come for treatment with significant narcissistic issues.
In keeping with the stated aims of the book and series, the book is organized in a straightforward manner beginning with mythic amplification, on to clinical vignettes and finally to a brief summary of theoretical statements of various psychoanalytic contributors; Jung is included as one of the voices of psychoanalysis. The authors’ intention is to present several of the major authorities on narcissism and reference some of the literature that readers can then consult to deepen their grasp on the material. In this way they allude to an integrated perspective on narcissism that allows for some clarity within the ‘Tower of Babel’ of modern psychoanalytic theory. They are partially successful in these aims.
The book is a quick read and offers little by way of controversy until the afterword. It begins with a presentation of the Narcissus myth. Along with the story, they offer some interpretive comme