Changes

The [[concept ]] of [[narcissistic injury]] does not appear as such in [[Freud]].

Since [[Freud]], the [[theoretical ]] elaboration of [[narcissism]] and the development of new entities of [[psychopathology]] has led to the creation of this concept to describe the consequences, on the [[narcissistic]] level, of a [[trauma]] to the [[psychic]] [[apparatus]] arising from [[internal]] or [[external]] factors.

It should be remarked, however, that the introduction of the concept of [[narcissism]] (1914) prepared the way in meta[[psychology]] for the [[notion ]] of [[narcissistic injury]], if one also takes into account the [[Freud]]ian propositions concerning the [[development]] of the [[ego]] in relation to the exigencies of the [[reality principle]], and his [[ideas ]] [[about ]] [[infantile]] [[helplessness]] (''[[Hilflosigkeit]]'').<ref>Freud. 1911b.</ref>

On the one hand, conflicting [[drive]]s, and, on the [[other]], the [[object]] and its vicissitudes inflict a series of [[trauma]]s on [[narcissism]], whereby the anguish linked to [[loss]] and/or [[separation]] becomes [[structural]].

Further [[reflection ]] on [[narcissism]], and the post-[[Freudian]] [[clinic]], have led to theories in which the notion of [[narcissistic injury]] occupies a central [[place]], as well as to developments and modifications in [[psychoanalytic]] [[technique]].

In the [[United States]], the "Self Psychology" of Heinz Kohut and the description of borderline states and narcissistic personalities by Otto Kernberg have made this [[category ]] central, allowing the evaluation of psychic organization and serving as [[transference]]-[[countertransference]] [[guide ]] in the course of the [[analysis]].

Heinz Kohut particularly has stressed the [[significance ]] of "narcissistic rage" as a reaction to [[narcissistic injury]]: faced with the failure of the [[self]]-[[object]], narcissistic rage would be the [[aggressive ]] result of [[shame]].

In [[France]], Béla Grunberger considered that [[narcissistic injury]], inflicted on the [[ego]] by the vicissitudes of a disappointed [[ego-ideal]], is an integral part of [[narcissism]]; accordingly, this [[theory ]] made [[narcissistic injury]] a pivotal notion, since the [[impotence]] inherent in the [[human condition]] constitutes, in itself and from the outset, a [[narcissistic injury]], one that is preponderant subsequently in the [[dialectic]] between [[narcissism]] and the [[drive]]s, as well as [[being ]] the source of [[ethics]] and [[civilization]].

Andre Green, stressing the [[role ]] of the [[object]], speaks of [[object]] [[trauma]], whose very [[existence]] is the [[cause ]] of [[injury]], calling for never-completed reparation.

* [[Freud, Sigmund]]. (1914c). On narcissism: An introduction. SE, 14: 67-102.

[[Category:HelpEdit]]

[[Category:Dictionary]][[Category:Treatment]][[Category:Practice]][[Category:Psychopathology]][[Category:PathologyUnsorted]]