Narcissistic Personality Disorder

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Narcissistic Personality Disorder Introduction

Leonard C. Groopman, M.D. Arnold M. Cooper, M.D.

Narcissism has stood at the center of the last 30 years of psychoanalytic exploration and controversy. Investigations into both healthy and pathological narcissism have occasioned significant developments and debates in psychoanalytic theory and psychotherapeutic technique. As Narcissus has assumed a place alongside Oedipus in the pantheon of developmental and pathogenic myths, the domain of practice has expanded to include disorders once believed to be untreatable. The therapist has been confronted with a rich, if at times contradictory and confusing, variety of phenomenological descriptions, etiological explanations, transference and countertransference phenomena, and technical recommendations for treating primary disturbances of the self. The treatment in such patients is widely recognized to be highly challenging as well as potentially highly rewarding.