Containing Rage, Terror and Despair: An Object Relations Approach to Psychotherapy: The Library of Object Relations

Once again Dr. Jeffrey Seinfeld has written an illuminating and lucid book that applies the theories of the British School of Object Relations to treatment of patients with severe psychopathology. He is masterful in his ability to capture the turbulent inner world of patients and to illustrate the ways in which therapists provide containment in the treatment process. Anyone committed to the intensive psychotherapeutic process will find this book's penetrating case examples compelling and instructive.
Seinfeld starts with a review of object relations concepts, chiefly from the British School. After setting the stage, he then applies these concepts to a series of primitive mental states, including psychotic, schizoid, drug-addicted, depressed, and borderline conditions. Where Seinfeld truly deserves praise is that he does not leave us wandering in abstractions. He includes detailed case studies in most chapters; these include fairly extensive transcripts of sessions. Through these, he shows how certain object relations concepts apply to actual clinical experience. I always appreciate this sort of translation; it brings theory to life and excites me to produce a more informed understanding of my own patients.
Seinfeld's book shows that the war between 'schools' of object relations theory is over and that we are in a new age of psychoanalysis. He makes use of the positive contributions of Fairbain, Bion, Winnicott, Klein, Sutherland, and recent writers like Grotstein, the Scharffs, Adler, and Rosenberg, to knit his own powerfully sensitive clinical approach to a wide spectrum of cases relevant for today's practice.