This book, now in its second edition, fills a key need in the field by making psychoanalytic personality theory accessible to practitioners of all levels of experience. Nancy McWilliams explains major character types and demonstrates how understanding the patient's individual personality structure can influence the therapist's focus and style of intervention. The book incorporates advances in attachment theory, neuroscience, and the study of trauma, and provides guidelines for developing a systematic yet flexible diagnostic formulation. It features numerous clinical vignettes presented with humor, candor, and compassion, making abstract concepts more understandable and relatable[1][2][3].
Nancy McWilliams, PhD, is a pioneer in the field of psychoanalytic/psychodynamics. Her genuine curiosity for trying to understand and help people has led to a rich, 50-year career.
In this conversation, Nancy shares learnings from her research in the field of complex trauma and profound lessons from clients who have opened up their worlds to her.
Reflecting on the changing landscape of psychotherapeutic approaches, and her objections to the “so-called evidence-based treatments”, she highlights the humanity in the psychotherapeutic relationship: meeting the clients where they are. “You have to tolerate uncertainty and not knowing – a kind of moral equality with the patient, where we’re figuring it out together. I have to learn from you; I’m not here to apply something to you.”
About Nancy McWilliams:
Nancy McWilliams, PhD, is a renowned psychoanalytic psychotherapist, professor, and author. Nancy teaches psychoanalytic theory and therapy at the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers--The State University of New Jersey. She is also a senior analyst with the Institute for Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy of New Jersey and the National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis. Nacy’s influential book, Psychoanalytic Diagnosis, is a response to the significant change of direction of the DSM IV and has become a standard text in many training programs for psychotherapists in the United States and abroad.
Learn More:
Nancy McWilliams, PhD, ABPP Psychoanalytic Diagnosis Text
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