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Vol. 44 No. 2 (2024)
Revista Portuguesa de Psicanálise

Clínicas

Love and Limitations to the Capacity to Love: Contributions from Otto Kernberg

https://doi.org/10.51356/rpp.442a5

Published 2024-12-31

  • Matilde da Silva Gomes
    • ,
  • Paula Valente

Matilde da Silva Gomes
Hospital de Braga

Paula Valente
Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Santo António (Hospital Magalhães Lemos)

Abstract

Romantic relationships are an almost universal subject in the psychiatric clinical practice, both because of the importance they assume for the majority of patients, and because of the suffering they often cause. Therefore, it is essential that the clinician access a theoretical body that will help him understand the dynamics of the couple. Based on the work of Otto Kernberg, the aim of this work is to explore how mature love develops and what mechanisms contribute to the stability of the couple, as well as to discuss how the cluster B personality disorders – namely, Borderline and Narcissistic – interfere with the establishment of healthy relationships.

Keywords

love, sexuality, personality, psychodynamics, Kernberg

PDF (Português)

Author Biography

Matilde da Silva Gomes

Médica Interna de Formação Especializada em Psiquiatria na Unidade Local de Saúde
de Braga. Especialização Clínica em Psicoterapia Psicodinâmica pela Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto.

Paula Valente

Assistente Hospitalar Graduada de Psiquiatria e Coordenadora do Hospital de Dia Psiquiátrico do Hospital Magalhães Lemos, Unidade Local de Saúde de Santo António. Departamento de Neurociências Clínicas e Saúde Mental, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto.

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