Psychopathology II: Borderline

Fourth Year Adult Psychoanalytic Training (APT)
2021-22, 3rd Trimester — Fridays, 3:30-5:00pm
Michael Pauly, MD
Charlotte Malkmus, MA LMHC

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April 8, 2022 — Part vs. Whole Object-Relating

[27 pages]

Donald Winnicott’s paper The Use of an Object deserves to be read many times over. In it he introduces his distinction between object relating and object usage. He walks the reader through the transition from object relating to object usage (the capacity of which is determined by an adequate facilitating environment). The transition requires the placing of the object outside of the subject’s omnipotent control. Failure to make this transition can explain many areas of difficulty in this population (separation-individuation, narcissistic rage, capacities to empathize / love, stability of interpersonal relationships, acceptance of external reality).

In Problems of Narcissistic Love, Sheldon Bach provides a vibrant picture of narcissistic character pathology, paying particular attention to disturbances in object-relatedness.

Winnicott, D.W. (1969) The Use of an Object. IJP, 50:711-716.

Bach, S. (1994) Ch2, “Problems of Narcissistic Love” in The Language of Perversion and The Language of Love. London: Aronson, pp29-49.