You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
“O wad some Pow'r the giftie gie usTo see oursels as others see us!It wad frae mony a blunder free usAn' foolish notion.
No analyst is free from narcissistic vulnerability. From the viewpoint of self psychology and intersubjectivity, narcissistic vulnerability can be understood as the frustration of one or other of the analyst's selfobject needs for mirroring, idealization, or indeed any other of the ways in which the analyst utilizes his patient as selfobject. Each analyst has his own particular areas of narcissistic vulnerability. We each have an ideal image of ourself (conscious or unconscious), as well motivated, effective, kind, lovable, tolerant, patient, and so forth. When experience with a patient fails to affirm such qualities we may react defensively by withdrawal, anger, or in a variety of other ways. A significant part of the analyst's growth in therapeutic capacity, must be derived from gradually accruing knowledge and mastery of these personal sensitivities.
A major part of the development of the analyst's role as a