Download Tag: Jill Scharff

Object Relations Individual Therapy

Emphasizing the transformational possibilities that grow out of their relational model of therapy, David E. and Jill Savege Scharff invite us into the territory of interactive journeys with individual patients. A contemporary classic.

 

Part history, part review of theory, part casebook, this masterful work will long stand as the definitive text on object relations and its role in mental health and mental illness. An invaluable contribution to our understanding of the theory and its use in clinical practice, Object Relations Individual Therapy is one of those rare finds―a volume that belongs in every practitioner’s library. — Theodore J. Jacobs, M.D., New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute

Arguably the finest contemporary teachers of object relations theory, Drs. Jill and David Scharff have put their teaching in writing in what must certainly be the most comprehensive text to date. It is thoughtfully organized and strikes a fine balance between theory and practice; readers can trust the Scharffs’ accounts of others’ work. Perhaps the heart of the book is a chapter on chaos theory and ‘fractals’―yep, fractals―that is deeply interesting and suggestive. The book’s unparalleled accomplishment, however, lies in the quality of the clinical writing, especially in these authors’ accounts of their own passing states of mind―or countertransferences―in work with their patients. A truly fine book. — Christopher Bollas, PhD, British Psychoanalytical Society

Drama in Mental Health

Dr. Scharff explains how drama and role-playing can be utilized both by medical and mental health practitioners in training, and by patients in the therapy setting. Medical students and therapists can engage in role-play with actors playing the part of patients with medical conditions to be assessed, in this way developing diagnostic acuity and clinical presence for the day when they will be allowed to work with patients. Drama helps patients in therapy encounter their difficulties in an “as if” setting where it is safe to learn from mistakes, explore conflict, and learn from the point of view of others. Drama prepares us to adapt to social change and empowers disadvantaged communities to represent themselves and fight for better conditions. Creative drama in particular affords industrious and imaginate experience that facilitates personal development such that men and women can fulfill their potential for spontaneous and creative living.

 

Towards the Interpersonal Unconscious

Through case studies and examples, Jill and David Scharff explain the development of their ideas over the last 30 years, including: psychoanalysis, child and adolescent therapy, family therapy, sex therapy, group therapy, group relations, attachment research, infant observation, trauma, applied chaos theory, and link theory. (423 pp.)