Overview

"There are common midlife events that account for the special narcissistic vulnerabilities of this period of life, and Eda Goldstein ably reviews these events and the theoretical perspectives commonly brought to bear on them. In When the Bubble Bursts, however, Goldstein's special concern is those individuals who come to midlife with heightened narcissistic vulnerabilities that make the navigation of this stage of life more difficult still. In understanding the latter such patients and devising a treatment approach appropriate to their ""self"" issues, Goldstein adopts a broadly self-psychological frame of reference. It is a matter, she finds again and again, of understanding how current stressors frustrate healthy self needs and trigger narcissistic vulnerabilities. Self-psychologically informed treatment, which, in Goldstein's pragmatic purview, embraces modalities that are, to varying degrees, supportive, psychodynamic, and psychoanalytic, reworks and strengthens self structures in helping patients find new ways of affirming their sense of self. Her substantive case studies, which accompany the reader through all the chapters in her study, draw on personal and supervisory experiences to illustrate crucial foci of the treatment process with a range of midlife patients in psychotherapy. Eda Goldstein presents a study that comprises an admirable blend of theoretical astuteness, clinical wisdom, and personal honesty. Her clinical study of midlife narcissistic pathology is bracketed by her balanced discussion of theoretical perspectives on adult development and her concluding consideration of the countertransference issues elicited by midlife patients in midlife therapists. When the Bubble Bursts is an edifying contribution to the literatures of psychodynamic psychotherapy, self psychology, and adult development."

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9780881633481

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<p>?Although ?midlife? has gradually become fertile terrain for developmental theorists and a small army of writers in the popular domain, far less attention has been paid to precisely how issues affecting individuals in midlife are explored and resolved in the clinical setting. In this work, deftly guided excursions into the realm of midlife theory are complemented by expertly crafted, detailed case illustrations. Eda Goldstein's skillful rendering of clinical process is enhanced by her decision to follow several cases over the course of treatment. Although avowedly self psychological in her orientation, Goldstein espouses an approach that is creative and integrative, matched only by her clinical acumen and the candor she displays in discussing contributions from the side of the therapist. <p>- Jerrold R. Brandell, Ph.D., Author, Psychodynamic Social Work<p>?Goldstein's book on midlife addresses in a stimulating, evocative, and extremely comprehensive manner the vicissitudes of this l

Author Information

Eda Goldstein, D.S.W., is Professor and Director of the Post Master's Certificate Program in Clinical Practice of the Ehrenkrantz School of Social Work of New York University. Among her many publications is Lesbian Identity and Contemporary Psychotherapy (Analytic Press, 2003), which she co-authored with Lois Horowitz.

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