Transforming Aggression

This is a comprehensive and spirited overview of the clinical application of Kohut's self psychology to the therapeutic issues surrounding assertion, reactive aggression, and what Dr. Lachmann dubs eruptive aggression. Countering the common charge that self psychology does not (or does not know how to) deal with the varying expressions of aggression in treatment and in life. Lachmann carefully explicates the distinctions between the self psychological and other (relational, ego psychological, and Kleinian) approaches to these issues. This book is valuable reading for all of us concerned with the manifestations of aggression and hostility in this world, and what we, as concerned professionals, can do to ameliorate their hurtful effects. -- Robert S., San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute, S. Wallerstein M.D., San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute
Although Lachmann's energetic and astute discussions of countertransference and projective identification would probably be best appreciated by the more theoretically sophisticated analytic practitioner, I would say that every other section of this book makes accessible, fascinating, and enjoyable reading for any educated, intelligent, and curious individual, with or without knowledge of psychoanalysis. Throughout the book Lachmann's ideas are illustrated with ample case material, literary references, and research findings, such that the reader has the opportunity to visit and revisit complex concepts in various guises and contexts... * Contemporary Psychology: The Apa Review Of Books *
This book deals with aggression in all its forms in the most thorough and clinically relevant manner, from the mildest sense of annoyance to cold-blooded serial killings. With its numerous examples, the book captivates, entertains, but primarily informs the reader about the latest views of the origin and clinical manifestations of aggression. The detailed clinical reports that sensitively capture the nuances of the interaction in the analytic dyad take up the discussion of the most central and currently hotly debated issues regarding the relationship between assertion and destructive aggression. Psychotherapists of every theoretical persuasion will find Transforming Aggression most rewarding and instructive. -- Anna Ornstein M.D., Harvard Medical School
Although Lachmann's energetic and astute discussions of countertransference and projective identification would probably be best appreciated by the more theoretically sophisticated analytic practitioner, I would say that every other section of this book makes accessible, fascinating, and enjoyable reading for any educated, intelligent, and curious individual, with or without knowledge of psychoanalysis. Throughout the book Lachmann's ideas are illustrated with ample case material, literary references, and research findings, such that the reader has the opportunity to visit and revisit complex concepts in various guises and contexts. * Contemporary Psychology: The Apa Review Of Books *