Danger of Change

<p>Confusing clinical standoffs, loyalty to self-destruction and abrupt terminations are challenging and under-examined problems for the modern psychoanalytic practitioner. <em>The Danger of Change</em> is a timely book that addresses the so-called resistant patient so many clinicians are familiar with. </p><p>Robert Waska blends theory based on Melanie Klein’s classical stance with the more contemporary Freudian/Kleinian school, to demonstrate how to understand patients that are resistant to progress. Divided into four sections, this book covers:</p><ul> <p> </p> <li>reluctant patients and the fight against change: caught between the paranoid and depressive world</li> <p> </p> <li>greed and the dangers of change</li> <p> </p> <li>interruptions to the process of change: loss, envy, and the death instinct</li> <p> </p> <li>working toward change in the face of overwhelming odds</li> </ul><p>Extensive and detailed clinical material is used to bring clarity to subjects including symbolism, conflict resolution, projective identification, the depressive and paranoid positions, change and trust. </p><p><em>The Danger of Change</em> brings hope and clarity to cases involving patients who experience progress as a threat to their emotional wellbeing. It will be of great interest to all practising psychoanalysts, as well as those studying psychoanalytic theory and practice.</p> <p>Introduction. Acknowledgments. <strong>Part I:</strong> <strong>Reluctant Patients and the Fight Against Change: Caught Between the Paranoid and Depressive World.</strong> I Hear You Knocking But You Can't Come In. Mistrust of the Good Object. Fighting Off the Good Object. Problems in Receiving. <strong>Part II:</strong> <strong>Greed and the Dangers of Change.</strong> Melanie Klein's Theory of Greed. The Frightening Rumble of Psychic Hunger. The Impossible Dream. Greed, Idealization, and Insatiability. Setting the Bar Too High. <strong>Part III:</strong> <strong>Interruptions to the Process of Change: Loss, Envy, and the Death Instinct.</strong> The Clinical Advantage of the Death Instinct. Acting Out and the Death Instinct. Borderline and Psychotic Patients. Oral Deprivation, Envy, and Sadism. <strong>Part IV:</strong> <strong>Working Toward Change in the Face of Overwhelming Odds.</strong> A Case Study of Borderline Anxiety, Bargains, Treaties, and Delusions. Symbolization and the Good Object. Summary.</p>