Schizoid Phenomena, Object Relations and the Self

Based on a series of clinical studies of schizoid problems, this book is a sequel to Harry Guntrip's theoretical study of the emergence of the schizoid problem, Personality Structure and Human Interaction (1961).It includes revised versions of earlier papers, and also much original material.In Part 1, a description of the schizoid position is given, in terms of relation to the external world, internal states of ego disintegration and, the core of the problem, the dissociated and lost emotional heart of the total self.Part 2 reviews the theoretical development which makes it necessary to see manic-depressive problems in the light of the deeper and more subtle schizoid condition. Part 3, on "The Nature of Basic Ego-Weakness", seeks to assess fully the importance of Winnicott's research into the earliest beginnings of ego development, as the infant slowly grows into psychic separation from the mother, a process that involves both the opportunity for individuation and also the risk of loss