Love Relations: Normality and PathologyDr. Otto Kernberg, the internationally renowned psychoanalytic theorist and clinician, here examines the success and failure of sexual love in couples, from adolescence to old age. Dr. Kernberg considers the two partners' conscious and unconscious emotional interactions and their unconsciously activated superego interactions. He also suggests that they establish a joint ego ideal as a couple, which plays an important role in the success of the relationship. And because the couple experiences love and sex in the context of the social environment, he studies the nature of relations between the couple and the group. After describing the biological and psychological determinants and elements of the sexual experience, Dr. Kernberg traces the nature of that experience over time in the light of object relations theory. He shows how the activation of unconscious, internalized object relations from the past triggers the most troubling conflicts and is also responsible for the most exciting aspects of a couple's love life. Throughout, Dr. Kernberg considers both so-called normal and pathological relationships, including the role of narcissism, masochism, and aggression in each. The result is a book that expands the boundaries of our current understanding of love relations. |
Contents
Narcissism | 143 |
Latency Group Dynamics and Conventionality | 163 |
The Couple and the Group | 176 |
References | 189 |
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Common terms and phrases
activation adolescence affect aggression ambivalence American Psychoanalytic Association analyst aspects awareness become biological bisexuality body boundaries Braunschweig Braunschweig and Fain capacity castration castration anxiety characteristic Chasseguet-Smirgel clinical context conventional core gender identity countertransference couple couple's cultural defensive devaluation dissociated dominant early ego ideal emotional enactment erotic desire exploration expression falling in love fantasies father fear feelings female frustrating fusion gender identity genital gratification heterosexual homosexual identification infant integration intense interaction intercourse internalized object relations love object love relations love relationship male marital masochism masochistic ment morality mother narcissistic pathology narcissistic personality neurotic normal oedipal conflicts orgasm parents partner pathology penis penis envy polymorphous perverse pornographic film pregenital preoedipal primitive primitive idealization projection psychology psychopathology reflects rela represented role sadistic sadomasochistic sense sexual behavior sexual excitement sexual inhibition sexual intimacy sexual passion sexual relationship social superego tion tolerance transference love treatment uncon unconscious guilt wife wish woman women