Identifying and Understanding the Narcissistic Personality

by Elsa F. Ronningstam

Narcissists have been much maligned, but according to clinicians who study personality, there are many productive narcissists who succeed spectacularly well in life because they can articulate a vision and make others follow. Elsa Ronningstam, who has been studying and treating narcissists for 20 years, presents a balanced, comprehensive, and up-to-date review of our understanding of narcissistic personality disorder, explaining the range from personality trait, which can be productive, to full-blown disorder, which can be highly destructive. Through fascinating case histories, Ronningstam shows us the inner life of narcissists, the tug of war that exists within them between self-confidence and arrogance on the one hand and painful shame and insecurity on the other. It is the first integrated clinical and empirical guide to assist clinicians in their work with narcissistic patients.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Psychiatry

255 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Brat Kulinov]

High 7
Good resource. Not a fun read per se, but it's supposed to be more of an academic book than a pop psychology book (I think), and it's still captivating at times, especially with the stories about specific clients. Still, it does drag on a bit, and there is some outdated information, so be careful with that...

[Chanie]

Clinical and insightful.

[Emily Ross]

The psychiatry jargon was a little hard for this simple mind to comprehend, but I did catch a few interesting things about NPD. Chapter 4 in particular had some very good descriptions and explanations.

[Niratisaya]

Akhirnya....selesai juga. Tidak terlalu berhubungan dg. narsisme yg saya pelajari, tapi cukup memberikan kontribusi untuk tesis yg saya kerjakan.

[S.G. Clark]

Read this sometime ago, great book.