Otto Kernberg

Otto F. Kernberg

Otto F. Kernberg, M.D.
Name	Otto F. Kernberg
Birth name
Birth date	September 10, 1928
Birth place	Vienna, Austria
Death date
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Alma mater
Occupation
Years active
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Known for	Object relations theory, Borderline personality organization
Notable works
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Otto Friedmann Kernberg (born September 10, 1928) is a prominent American psychiatrist and psychoanalyst known for his work on borderline personality disorder and object relations theory. He is a professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College and the director of the Personality Disorders Institute at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Early Life and Education

Kernberg was born in Vienna, Austria, and emigrated to Chile with his family in 1939 to escape the Nazi regime. He completed his medical degree at the University of Chile in 1955. Kernberg then moved to the United States, where he trained in psychiatry at the Menninger Foundation in Topeka, Kansas, and later in psychoanalysis at the New York Psychoanalytic Institute.

Career

Kernberg's career has been marked by his significant contributions to the understanding and treatment of severe personality disorders. He has held numerous academic and clinical positions, including serving as the president of the International Psychoanalytical Association from 1997 to 2001.

Object Relations Theory

Kernberg is renowned for his development of object relations theory, which emphasizes the internalization of interpersonal relationships and their impact on personality development. His work integrates psychoanalytic theory with contemporary research in psychology and neuroscience.

Borderline Personality Organization

Kernberg's most influential work is his theory of borderline personality organization, which describes a spectrum of personality functioning characterized by identity diffusion, primitive defenses, and impaired reality testing. His model has been instrumental in the development of psychotherapy techniques for treating borderline personality disorder.

Publications

Kernberg has authored numerous books and articles, including Borderline Conditions and Pathological Narcissism (1975), Severe Personality Disorders: Psychotherapeutic Strategies (1984), and Aggressivity, Narcissism, and Self-Destructiveness in the Psychotherapeutic Relationship (2004).

Awards and Honors

Kernberg has received multiple awards for his contributions to psychiatry and psychoanalysis, including the Mary S. Sigourney Award for distinguished contributions to psychoanalysis and the American Psychiatric Association's Adolf Meyer Award.

Also see

• Borderline personality disorder
• Object relations theory
• Psychoanalysis
• Personality disorders
• Narcissism

References

• Kernberg, O. F. (1975). Borderline Conditions and Pathological Narcissism. New York: Jason Aronson.
• Kernberg, O. F. (1984). Severe Personality Disorders: Psychotherapeutic Strategies. New Haven: Yale University Press.
• Kernberg, O. F. (2004). Aggressivity, Narcissism, and Self-Destructiveness in the Psychotherapeutic Relationship. New Haven: Yale University Press.