Character Structure and the Organization of the Self

344 Pages·1992·15.957 MB·English

by  Lawrence Josephs

Character Structure and the
Organization of the Self
Personality, Psychopathology, arid Psychotherapy:
Theoretical and Clinical Perspectives
Henry Kellerman, Series Editor
Psychopathology and Differential Diagnosis: A Primer
Volume One: History of Psychopathology
by Henry Kellerman and Anthony Burrv
Psychopathology and Differential Diagnosis: A Primer
Volume Two: Diagnostic Primer
by Henry Kellerman and Anthony Burrv
The Transference-Countertransference Matrix:
The Emotional-Cognitive Dialogue
in Psychotherapy, Psychoanalysis, and Supervision
by Robert J. Marshall and Simone V. Marshall
An Interpersonal Approach to Child Therapy:
The Treatment of Children and Adolescents
from an Interpersonal Point of View
by Stanley Spiegel
Theories of Object Relations: Bridges to Self Psychology
by Howard A. Bacal and Kenneth M. Newman
Group Psychotherapist's Handbook: Contemporary
Theory and Technique
Edited by Irwin I. Kutash and Alexander Wolf
CHARACTER STRUCTURE
AND THE ORGANIZATION
OF THE SELF
Lawrence Josephs
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS
NEW YORK
Columbia University Press
New York Oxford
Copyright © 1992 Columbia University Press
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Josephs, Lawrence.
Character structure and organization of the self /
I-awrence Josephs.
p. cm.—(Personality, psychopathology, and
psychotherapy)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-231-07312-7 (alk. paper)
1. Personality disorders. 2. Typology (Psychology)
3. Character.
I. Title. II. Series: Personality, Psychopathology, and
psychotherapy (New York, N.Y.)
[DNLM: 1. Character. 2. Ego. 3. Models,
Psychological. WM
460.5. E3 J83c]
RC554.J66 1992
155.2—dc20
DNLM/DLC
for Library of Congress 91-29753
Casebound editions of Columbia University Press books
are Smyth-sewn and printed on permanent and durable
acid-free paper.
Printed in the United States of America
c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 21
To Laura

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
Part I
The Psychoanalytic Theory of Character Structure
1. Libidinal Types 9
2. Defensive Styles 25
3. Cognitive Styles 39
4. Interpersonal Styles 51
5. The Archaic Relational Matrix 72
viii Contents
6. The Organization of the Self 90
7. Integrative Overview 128
Part II
Character Style and the Relational Self
8. Obsessive-Compulsive Character Structure 139
9. Hysterical Character Structure 157
10. Depressive-Masochistic Character Structure 175
11. Narcissistic Character Structure 194
12. Paranoid Character Structure 217
13. Schizoid Character Structure 240
14. Antisocial Character Structure 263
15. Final Overview 286
References 305
Index 311
Acknowledgments
The inspiration for writing this book derived from the experience
of teaching graduate students in clinical psychology at the Gordon
F. Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies of Adelphi
University. My students taught me how they needed to be taught,
so that the pluralistic universe of psychoanalytic discourse could be-
gin to seem user-friendly.
I am grateful to Drs. Shellie Levine, Karen Lombardi, Jeremy
Safran, and Joel Weinberger for reading the book in its entirety
and offering useful feedback. Dr. Henry Kellerman, Series Editor
of Personality, Psychopathology, and Psychotherapy: Theoretical and
Clinical Perspectives, Columbia University Press, provided the ini-
tial encouragement that helped get the project off the ground. A
debt of gratitude is owed to Heidi Daniels, M.A., who indefatigably
labored at the word processor, helping me generate one draft of
the book after another. My wife, Dr. Laura Josephs, provided the
daily emotional and intellectual sustenance vital to easing the strain
of a creative endeavor.