Reflections on narcissism — André Green's contribution

The aim of this article is to review and integrate the work of the French psychoanalyst André Green into Dutch-Flemish psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy for narcissistic patients. The distinction between positive or life narcissism and negative or dead narcissism is made and illustrated by a clinical vignette and illustrations taken from film (Sorrentino's La grande bellezza) and poetry (Fernando Pessoa). The concept of moral narcissism is discussed. Narcissism is linked to the dead mother complex. The therapeutic implications of the work of Green are discussed. Negative narcissism plays a significant role in therapeutic impasses.