Description
Book SynopsisThe past forty years have revealed a myriad of theoretical advances to Freud's original conceptions of the personality. It has also witnessed the continued use of projective methods as a vital means of understanding the what and the how of mental health and psychopathology. Understanding Personality Through Projective Testing provides the reader with a comprehensive framework for linking these revitalized key domains of personality functioning to the quality of responses to projective testing in both children and adults. Six core aspects of personality: two facets of object relations (moving towards and away from self and others); the quality of defense mechanisms; the nature of affect maturity; the integrity of autonomous ego functioning and the capacity for playfulness are defined, articulated, and linked to one another in a reciprocal manner. Four commonly used projective testing methods: the Rorschach Inkblot Method (RIM); the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), the Sentence Completi
Trade ReviewIn the current climate of clinical psychology training in which depth approaches to assessment and treatment are being deemphasized or eliminated (e.g., American Psychological Association Division 12 Presidential Task Force, 1999) in favor of symptom-focused methods, Tuber’s Understanding Personality Through Projective Testing is a welcome and refreshing antidote. Tuber’s volume follows in the tradition of classics on psychoanalytic psychological assessment such as Rapaport, Gill, and Schafer (1968); Schafer (1954); Allison, Blatt, and Zimet (1968); and Lerner (1998). As important and relevant as those texts continue to be, Tuber communicates his ideas and methods in a manner that is more accessible to contemporary graduate students, pre- and postdoctoral trainees, and early career psychologists who may have had less immersion in psychoanalytic theory than their predecessors in past decades. An experienced clinician, teacher, and supervisor, Tuber strives to write as if the reader is 'sitting in my classroom, sharing the dialogue with me' (p. ix), and he is largely successful. ... Tuber has made a meaningful and accessible contribution to the psychological testing literature at a point in time when useful and sophisticated psychoanalytic theory-driven approaches are at risk of being lost (Lerner, 2007). Tuber’s conversational style in communicating complex theoretical and technical ideas exudes passion for psychoanalytic theory and assessment, a generative spirit, and empathy for his patients, students, and readers. Tuber’s book offers hope that future generations of psychologists will appreciate the immense value in this way of thinking and working. Understanding Personality Through Projective Testing would be a highly worthwhile addition to reading lists in assessment seminars for advanced graduate students, interns, and postdoctoral fellows. The value of this book will be further enhanced by classroom time devoted to the thinking along with Tuber in his process of drawing inferences from the data in his detailed case illustrations. * Psychoanalytic Psychology *
