Toward a Clinically More Useful Model for Diagnosing Narcissistic Personality Disorder

摘要

Given the ubiquity of narcissistic behavior in society (1,2) and clinical practice, it is striking that so little clinically focused research has been conducted on narcissistic traits and narcissistic personality disorder. Narcissistic personality disorder first appeared in DSM in the third edition. Its inclusion was stimulated in large part by contributions of psychoanalysts such as Kernberg, who continued in the tradition of a conflict-based ego psychology and object relations approach, and Kohut, who opted for a deficit-based theory of personality development postulating that narcissistic pathology resulted from the child's repeated experiences of parental empathic failure. The unique challenges of treating these patients received considerable attention, which led to an acceptance that expressive or insight-oriented treatment could be effective for many patients with narcissistic personality disorder previously thought untreatable