The Paranoid Process (Classical Psychoanalysis and its Applications)

Paranoid forms of thinking play a significant role in a wide variety of human experiences. The Paranoid Process is an attempt to define the nature of the intrapsychic mechanisms at work in such a process, specifically the complex interactions of interjections, projections, and "the paranoid construction." A number of clinical cases of differing levels of pathology are presented, each offering an example of the paranoid process at work. This book covers a broad range of approaches to the paranoid process as a clinical and social phenomenon. Beginning with Freud and a detailed historical survey of the concept of the paranoid syndromes, Meissner extends his investigation into the most recent analytic and more general psychological findings. While the basic framework is classically psychoanalytic, he utilizes material from clinical psychology, cognition, family dynamics, and sociology. Such diverse categories as phobias, cognitive style, narcissism, parent-child interaction, and student revolution become meaningfully linked in their relation to the paranoid process. A major contribution to the volume is its emphasis on human personality as influenced by the constantly interacting social and environmental matrix of the individual, as opposed to a more limited instinct-based approach. On a psychological plane, the primary process is seen as making a contribution to identity formation in the normal development process. While the exploration of paranoia does not include descriptions of clinical manifestations, the emphasis is on the process itself in both pathological and socially adaptive realms.