ABSTRACT
Kernberg has attempted to combine at least four elements from either an ego psychological or object relations perspective. These are structure, defence, development and instinct or drive. The main focus of Kernberg’s theorizing is the type of patients that, in the past, have been described by Fairbairn, Winnicott, or Balint. In describing Kernberg’s work, this chapter highlights the clinical observations which Kernberg’s theory seeks to explain. It summaries his contributions in four areas: development; psychoanalytic classification of character pathology, including the borderline diagnosis; treatment implications, derived from the developmental theory and diagnostic system, including the rationale for various treatment recommendations as well as Kernberg’s view of countertransference and the therapeutic stance; and a theory of drives or early affects. The chapter focuses on Kernberg’s critics and reviews the major elements in Kernberg’s contributions to psychoanalytic theory.
