In this, the third volume in the acclaimed series on ego psychology, Rubin and Gertrude Blanck advance ego psychology beyond its position as a psychoanalytic developmental psychology, and present a developmental object relations theory. In Beyond Ego Psychololgy: Developmental Object Relations Theory the authors remain, as always, firmly rooted in psychoanalytic theory while elaborating upon it. While their earlier work integrated the structural theory with the ego psychology that flowed from it, here they have extended Freud's concept of the Gesamt Ich, the ego as a whole, which they describe as superordinate to the ego of structure. Their work is distinctive because they add new dimensions to theory construction without discarding such basics as drive theory and conflict theory. This new volume revives Freud's thoughts about object realations, and adds developmental theory to provide an integrated object relations theory. Object relations, the Blancks propose, arise out of the interaction between self and object representations and can be defined as the resultants of that interaction. Extended also are the concept of transference, the manner in which the Oedipus Complex is resolved, and the technique of the termination process. Beyond Ego Psychology will be welcomed by readers of the first two books in this series, by psychoanalysts, psychiatrists, psychologists, clinical social workers, and by a broad readership of professors and students in psychology, social work, and medicine. -- Nathaniel Ross, M.D.

This book is a clarion call for an expanded vision of human possibilities. In it, many of the best thinkers of our day ask us to renew the perennial search for self-knowledge and to discover the deeper meaning of our lives. For this, they offer the transpersonal perspective -- which extends beyond consciousness in its myriad forms, including altered states, yoga, dreams, and contemplation. This marriage of psychology and science with the spiritual traditions has borne ripe fruit: the transpersonal vision, which offers a uniquely generous and encompassing view of human nature. The fifty essays that make up Paths Beyond Ego apply transpersonal thinking to individual growth, psychotherapy, meditation, dreams, psychedelics, science, ethics, philosophy, ecology, and service. The result is an integrated and comprehensive overview of the many dimensions of human experience. In clear, accessible writing, the contributors suggest that our potential for enhancing human abilities is much greater than previously suspected and that our tools for this grand undertaking are widely available today. The transpersonal vision offers great hope for the future -- and links us to the timeless wisdom of the ages.

Egoicism, a mindset that places primary focus upon oneself, is rampant in contemporary Western cultures as commercial advertisements, popular books, song lyrics, and mobile apps consistently promote self-interest. Consequently, researchers have begun to address the psychological, interpersonal, and broader societal costs of excessive egoicism and to investigate alternatives to a "me and mine first" mindset. For centuries, scholars, spiritual leaders, and social activists have advocated a "hypo-egoic" way of being that is characterized by less self-concern in favor of a more inclusive "we first" mode of functioning. In recent years, investigations of hypo-egoic functioning have been examined by psychologists, cognitive scientists, neuroscientists, and philosophers. Edited by Kirk Warren Brown and Mark R. Leary, The Oxford Handbook of Hypo-egoic Phenomena brings together an expert group of contributors to examine these groundbreaking lines of inquiry, distilling current knowledge about hypo-egoicism into an exceptional resource. In this volume, readers will fi nd theoretical perspectives from philosophy and several major branches of psychology to inform our understanding of the nature of hypo-egoicism and its expressions in various domains of life. Further, readers will encounter psychological research discoveries about particular phenomena in which hypo-egoicism is a prominent feature, demonstrating its implications for well-being, regulation of emotion, adaptive decision-making, positive social relations, and other markers of human happiness, well-being, and health. This Handbook offers the most comprehensive and thoughtful analyses of hypo-egoicism to date.

We live in a marketplace filled with valuable ideas for how to be happy, yet people continue to suffer. We are just now awakening to the principal source of our unhappiness and suffering, which is ego. Ego wreaks havoc in our daily lives, from the pain that individuals, couples, and families experience all the way up to global tensions and international conflict. Most people think of ego as an inflated sense of self-importance, but this is only a fraction of what it really is. Ego is the misidentification of who we are as beings. It drives us to think and behave in ways that are inconsistent and incongruent with whom we really are, leading always to dissatisfaction and suffering. The secret to finding happiness is to loosen ourselves from egos painful grip by going beyond ego and entering the world of Spiritthe source of true joy and peace. To do so, we must first travel through the ego. Without proper guidance, this trip can be perilous, because ego, to ensure its own survival, makes every attempt to derail us along the way. Beyond the Ego is an easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide to help you make this journey safely. The seeds of happiness, joy, and peace of mind will take root at the outset of your journey and continue to grow every step of your way.

In Ego Psychology II, Gertrude and Rubin Blanck elaborate upon ego psychological theory, extending and broadening it into a psychoanalytic developmental psychology. They present the unifying proposal, derived from Freud's concept of an overall ego (the Gesamt Ich), that the ego is the organizing process itself. Out of this basic proposition, a holistic conception of psychological development evolves. Within the developmental framework established in Ego Psychology II symptom constellation is shown to be unreliable as a guide to diagnosis. A diagram of development is presented to convey that overall development rather than symptomatology provides guidelines for secure diagnosis and suggests how treatment is to be carried out. Treatment, in the form of ego-building techniques, evolves from recognition that developmental inadequacies cause pathological formations that become malformations in the structure. Ego Psychology II is valuable for psychotherapists, psychologists, psychoanalysts and social workers: the authors' extensive case-study material illustrates the theroy and technique of developmental psychology in vivid form. The authors show also how psychoanalytic developmental psychology updates drive theory, sheds new light on transference, redefines resistance and defense in the poorly structured personalities, clarifies the pathology of the borderline conditions of narcissism, and suggests reconsideration of the manner in which many neurotic formations are attained.

While ego psychological theory still holds a pre-eminent position in clinical social work practice, the field has changed in many ways. This revised edition addresses these major changes, bringing the reader up to date.