The Integrity of the Personality

by Anthony Storr

Anthony Storr's account of the development of the personality has become a classic. It argues that there is nothing wrong with being oneself, indeed individuality demonstrates the ability to form relationships with others. By tracing the stages that lead from childhood through adolescence to maturity, Dr Storr imparts much information about human development as well as providing many insights into the causes of neuroses and other psychological problems. This book is aimed at students of psychology, readers interested in psychology, psychotherapy and theories of personality and those in medical and "caring" professions.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Psychoanalysis, Academic, Psychiatry, Science

185 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

Anthony Storr was an English psychiatrist and author. He was a child who was to endure the typical trauma of early 20th century UK boarding schools. He was educated at Winchester, Christ's College, the University of Cambridge and Westminster Hospital. He qualified as a doctor in 1944, and subsequently specialized in psychiatry.

Storr grew up to be kind and insightful, yet, as his obituary states, he was "no stranger to suffering" and was himself allegedly prone to the frequent bouts of depression his mother had.

Today, Anthony Storr is known for his psychoanalytical portraits of historical figures.

Reviews

[Nate Markham · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book for parents. Explains the basics of the psyche and human behavior in a very easy to read way. He writes about how the mind develops from infancy to adulthood. He likens the mind to a plant, and suggests careful development and cultivation of the mind on the part of the parents, and the mind of the parents as well. He discusses the need for a child to have clear boundaries but constant assurance up to about age 3. After age 3 he recommends the temporary removal of the comforting presence of the parent and the child will seek to regain this comfort by displaying adherence to the introjected norms the parent has instilled in their child. Then he gets into like if the values the kids have are good or bad and how things derail into schizophrenia or something else after that if negative and violent values are instilled, especially at a young age.

The use of limits on children and their actions reaching out in rebellion as a normal human behavior that should be dealt with in a careful balance of enforcing limits and validation and respect for the equal personality of the child. The child needs boundaries to rebel against just as much as the child needs to rebel.

In under 200 pages this guy expounds the workings of the human mind with careful consideration of all work in the field at the time he wrote it in 1961. The author writes from a Jungian perspective and presents a clear and easily understandable version of Jung's fundamental concepts.

[Nicol MacPherson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth a read, don't agree on the homosexuality element but it's a 60s book.

[Owlseyes]

[al · Rating 2 out of 5]

Storr gives some good insights into the psychoanalytic process, as well as some precise/thoughtful summaries of analytic positions and theories. I found the book particularly useful as a loose canvas of psychoanalytic/chemotherapeutic positions in the first half of the 20th century, and especially enjoyed the chapter on "the Emergent Personality"-- particularly its emphasis on the provision of attentive, genuine care to patients as an essential component of successful psychoanalytic treatment.

But as a product of its time I also found the work to be let down by its "ideological blinkers", which undermine the potency of some of Storr's conclusions and clinical assumptions. One example is Storr's insistence that homosexual inclinations are the result of a "failure of maturation" that can be overcome by encouraging the patient to successfully identify themselves with the same sex, coupled (uncritically) with his assertion that psychoanalytic practice should not be a conversion experience and instead focused on encouraging the patient to "find their own way in life." At the least it was interesting to "see" how a therapist could hold and justify what seem to us, now, to be obviously contradictory theses.

[Gideon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very neat little introduction for anyone interested in analytic psychology, psycho-analysis and object relations. Perhaps not theoretically detailed, but definitely written in a way that would help one think in a more psychodynamic way about yourself, your personal relationships and psychopathology in general (specifically the category of symptoms we would place in the neurotic category of presentation). Very concise, very accessible and has a few sprinkles of meaningful insight spread throughout the book.

[Aidan]

Interesting glimpse into mid-century psychology. great opening, kind of becomes a bit muddy towards the end. The comments on homosexuality were a bit odd but I suppose it was written pre-legalisation of gay sex in England (which also makes it funny that he references E.M. Forster so much, too).

The main points do seem repeated an awful lot.

[David Lai · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really impressive book on major themes in the development of the personality, considered from the perspective of the psychotherapist: clear, concise, coherent, compassionate and surprisingly convincing. However, the bit about "homosexuality and other perversions" doesn't sit well today.

[Apoorv Gupta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read Self-help, guys! Read this kind of Self-help.

[Jessi !! · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't realize that this was a self help book until I finished it and I found it a bit boring.

[Rees Fleming · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought it from the store I worked on discount, Never read it.

still on my bookshelf.

Describes the processes involved in the development of the personality