Psychic retreats

The book Psychic Refuge has become a kind of "bestseller" in psychoanalytic literature and has been translated into many languages. The text managed to bring not only a new perspective on the theory and technique of psychoanalytic work, but above all an understanding of the difficulties experienced in therapy by patients who, together with their therapists, embark on the difficult journey towards psychological change.

The concepts contained in the book have become an integral part of psychoanalytic theory, which reflects current clinical practice - working with people with more severe personality problems (borderline personality organization, narcissistic disorders, as if personality). Here the therapist encounters projections of deep early, often very destructive aspects of the patient and must manage a great deal of anxiety, countertransference confusion and acting out. The text also includes a number of clinical examples. Steiner builds on the work of his teachers and colleagues: Herbert Rosenfeld, Wilfred Bion, Hanna Segal and Betty Joseph.