Character and psychotherapy

Am J Psychother. 1996 Winter;50(1):3-13. doi: 10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.1996.50.1.3.

Abstract

Psychoanalytic theory of psychopathology began as a theory of particular pathogenic agents in the form of repressed memories or drive-generated fantasies. It has developed in the direction of a theory of the mind's organization; that is, a theory of character pathology. A characterological understanding of psychopathology enlarges therapeutic attention beyond the patient's verbal references and toward the patient himself in the "here and now."

MeSH terms

  • Character*
  • Humans
  • Mental Disorders / therapy
  • Psychoanalysis
  • Psychoanalytic Therapy*
  • Transference, Psychology