Boundaries and Boundary Violations in Psychoanalysis
Glen O. Gabbard
American Psychiatric Publishing
The first edition of Boundaries and Boundary Violations in Psychoanalysis, published 20 years ago, was groundbreaking in addressing a subject that was at that time considered taboo. This new, thoroughly revised edition contains a wealth of new material, reflecting the current knowledge and evolving attitudes about boundary violations. The volume, which is based on the author's 30 years of experience evaluating, treating, and consulting on more than 300 cases of professional boundary violations, is essential reading for psychoanalysts, residents, training directors, therapists, and other mental health professionals. Perhaps the most obvious form of boundary violation is sexual, and the author examines how these situations develop, how they destroy the analytic relationship, and how different types of analysts transgress boundaries for different motives, both unconscious and conscious. Other forms of boundary violations (for example, nonsexual and supervisory), are also addressed, including a fascinating and instructive chapter on cyber violations, a type of boundary violation that could not have been predicted 20 years ago. Beautifully written and meticulously referenced, Boundaries and Boundary Violations in Psychoanalysis is an exhaustive, utterly current examination of a critically important topic and represents a vital contribution to the psychoanalytic literature.