Interpersonal Boundaries: Variations and Violations(Margaret S. Mahler)

Across the lifespan we may experience moments of sublime intimacy, suffocating closeness, comfortable solitude, and intolerable distance or closeness. In Interpersonal Boundaries: Variations and Violations Salman Akhtar and the other contributors demonstrate how boundaries, by delineating and containing the self, secure one's conscious and unconscious experience of entity and of self-governance. Interpersonal Boundaries reveals the complexities of the self and its boundaries, while identifying some of the enigmatic questions about how the biological, psychological, and cultural aspects of the self interrelate. The contributors skillfully integrate a wide range of theory with a wealth of clinical material. Examples range from the dark side of boundary-violating therapists to an extraordinary presentation of harrowing analytic work with a severely traumatized man. Readers will find that this volume makes a significant contribution to the knowledge of boundaries of the self in psychotherapeutic theory and practice.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 The Self and Its Boundaries: An Introductory Overview Chapter 2 Boundary Formation in Children: Normality and Pathology Chapter 3 Clinical Perspectives on the Development of Boundaries Chapter 4 Sexual and Non-Sexual Boundary Violations in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy Chapter 5 Going Over the Edge - A One-Person or Two-Person Psychology? Chapter 6 Breaking of Boundaries and Craving for Oneness Chapter 7 Experiencing Oneness: Pathological Pursuit or Normal Necessity? Chapter 8 Why Boundaries, Fences, and Walls Around the Self?: A Concluding Commetary

About the Author :
Salman Akhtar is professor of psychiatry at Jefferson Medical College, lecturer on psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and training and supervising analyst at the Philadelphia Psychoanalytic Institute. He has published widely in the field of psychoanalysis and psychiatry and is author of Broken Structures: Severe Personality Disorders and Their Treatment (1992) and Quest for Answers: A Primer for Understanding and Treating Severe Personality Disorders (1995), Inner Torment (1999), Immigration and Identity (1999), New Clinical Realms (2004), and Objects of Our Desire (2005) as well as six volumes of poetry.

Review :
This book is highly recommended not only for professionals but for those in clinical training, the latter of whom can be expected to gain insight into the complex and often unsuspected dynamics between therapist and patient and, in the process, learn how to best prevent their own transgression of the therapeutic relationship. Readers not well disposed to a psychoanalytic perspective should not be put off, for the contributors are well versed in contemporary neuroscience, draw on empirical studies, and acknowledge the role of culture in effecting interpersonal boundaries. Moreover, the dynamics of transference and countertransference are important to understand no matter what one's theoretical orientation may be. Indeed, this book suggests that it is possible to dampen the fires that threaten to consume both therapist and patient while yet stoking the flames that warm a chilled and fearful heart. Interpersonal Boundaries: Variations and Violations brings together distinguished analysts who explore contemporary clinical and theoretical problems of the fundamental notions of self and other. In clinically rich accounts and incisive commentary, Phyllis Tyson, Glen Gabbard, Ira Brenner, Salman Akhtar, Ilany Kogan, and Henri Parens, among others, shed new light on boundary formation, boundary violations, and the effect of trauma, culture, and narcissism on boundary experiences of both patient and analyst. This book blends the vivid immediacy of the clinical encounter and the thoughtful contributions of the scholar, making it ideal for beginners and experienced clinicians alike. This excellent book clarifies a pervasive yet enigmatic concept - boundaries - in a variety of domains: interpersonal, intrapsychic, cultural, and developmental. From whatever theoretical persuasion, readers will find this book literary, sophisticated, poetic, and most useful in their clinical work. Thoughtful and enjoyable, this book is a must read! Interpersonal Boundaries is a wide-ranging, richly illustrated, thoughtful and thought-provoking set of essays on the function, development and maintenance of boundaries that will stand as a significant contribution to our understanding and therapeutic regulation of this important area of clinical concern.