Introduction to the Italian edition of Otto F. Kernberg's 1975 book Borderline Conditions and Pathological Narcissism (1978)

The Introduction to the Italian edition of Otto F. Kernberg's book Borderline Conditions and Pathological Narcissism (New York: Aronson, 1975) - Sindromi marginali e narcisismo patologico (Turin: Boringhieri, 1978, pp. 9-21) - is reprinted. The theoretical and clinical innovations proposed by Kernberg regarding borderline personality disorder and pathological narcissism are discussed in light of some considerations on the developments of psychoanalytic theory. This Introduction is reprinted on the occasion of Pier Maria Furlan's death, that occurred on January 20, 2022. Pier Maria Furlan was a member of the editorial board of the journal Psicoterapia e Scienze Umane from 1978 to 1991.