The Deconstruction of Narcissism and the Function of the Object

The Deconstruction of Narcissism and the Function of the Object addresses the topic of narcissistic suffering and presents an innovative take on its psychoanalytic treatment through the deconstruction of its solipsism.

Presenting a new approach which builds on intuitions described by Freud and Winnicott, René Roussillon introduces the project of reconstructing what remains of "narcissistic" and solipsistic propositions in the theories of narcissism. Roussillon’s work explores his views on narcissism, its multiple pathological manifestations and its connection to the concept of the object. Spanning topics such as sexualization and desexualization in psychoanalysis, the symbolizing function of the object, transference and associativity, this new approach to treatment provides more satisfactory therapeutic results than current practice which seeks to analyze narcissistic impasses from an intrapsychic perspective alone.

This book will be of interest to psychoanalytic and psychodynamic clinicians.

René Roussillon is Professor Emeritus of Clinical Psychology and Psychopathology at the University of Lyon, France. He was awarded the Bouvet Prize in 1991 and the Sigourney Award in 2016. He is the author of 5 books translated into 10 languages. Roussillon is also a training member of the Société Psychanalytique de Paris and the Groupe Lyonnais de Psychanalyse Rhône-Alpes.