Cognitive Psychodynamics: From Conflict to Character

"It is refreshing to encounter an integrative reframing of thecurrent status of psychodynamic theory and practice. . . .Professor Horowitz lays out a [clear] approach to assessment andpsychotherapy . . . livened by brief, effective case studies."--Jerome L. Singer, Professor of Psychology and Child Study Center, Yale University

And other titles by the same author . . .

Mardi Horowitz has gone where others fear to tread . . . [by]blending traditional psychodynamic concepts with cognitivepsychology and neuroscience. The result is a relatively accessibleand sensible primer of mental structure and function. --RobertWaldinger, M.D., on Introduction to Psychodynamics: A NewSynthesis

Horowitz' revised volume must be considered the definitive work inthe area. The bibliography is comprehensive, and the scholarship issuperb. --Glen Gabbard, M.D., on Image Formation andPsychotherapy

Cognitive Psychodynamics offers an important new integration ofcognitive science and psychodynamic psychology that provides acommon language across disciplines while presenting an explicittheoretical basis for understanding the processes that bring aboutchange. Written by Mardi J. Horowitz, one of the world's leadingpsychological theoreticians, this trailblazing work provides ananalysis of both conscious and unconscious mental processes and thedevelopment of identity and relationships.

The book is organized around three theoretical constructs: statesof mind
defensive control processes used to regulate emotion
andperson schemas, the cognitive maps that organize patterns ofrelationships and identity. Initial chapters present theinformation processing of emotional themes. The book then addresseshow people form a meaningful identity during development and howthey deal with the conflict between self-striving andresponsibility to others.

Starting with smaller systems that represent ideas and feelings, the material builds toward larger systems that tackle complexissues such as the nature of identity, the basis of attachments toothers, and why maladaptive relationship cycles get repeateddespite their destructive nature. Bridging the gap between theoryand clinical practice, the book addresses crucial concepts ofchange -- how people become self-aware, how enhanced awareness canlead to insight, and how insight can lead to new decisions that canalter fundamental attitudes and lead to adaptive changes inbehavioral patterns. Interesting case examples anchor theory toobservable human predicaments, and to concrete ways in which changecan occur.

Cognitive Psychodynamics offers an original perspective on issuesof emotional conflict and character development that will bewelcomed by psychologists, psychiatrists, researchers, andscholars, as well as professors and students in the behavioral andsocial sciences.