In this webinar presented by Synapsis, Morris N. Eagle and Nancy McWilliams discuss the foundations of a revised and expanded ego psychology. The occasion is Eagle’s book Toward a Unified Psychoanalytic Theory. Foundation in a Revised and Expanded Ego Psychology (London: Routledge, 2021), recently translated into Italian (as Verso una teoria psicoanalitica unificata fondata su una Psicologia dell’Io riveduta e ampliata) by Raffaello Cortina publisher of Milan and edited by Paolo Migone.

A revised and expanded ego psychology represents the most solid basis for a unified theory of the mind and also for its integration with advances in other disciplines. Among the areas in which ego psychology requires revision are the recognition of the role of object relations in the development of ego functions, the relative autonomy of object relations from drives, an adequate explanation of interpersonal understanding, and a coherent theory of affects with recognition of their motivational role. The implications of a revised and expanded ego psychology for the conception of psychopathology and treatment are also discussed in the volume as well as in the dialogue between Morris N. Eagle and Nancy McWilliams.

The aim of the book as well as of the dialogue between the two American psychoanalysts is to integrate the approaches of different schools and the most relevant results of empirical research into a general theory of the mind based on psychoanalytic foundations.
One of the main theses of Eagle’s book is the suitability of an ego psychology as the most solid foundation not only for the formulation of a unified psychoanalytic theory, but also for the integration of the most relevant research data from other disciplines.
In a rigorous yet accessible manner, the basic principles of ego psychology and the revisions and corrections that would need to be made to them are outlined. Research and theories on interpersonal understanding, the capacity for inhibition, defense, delay of gratification, autonomous ego motivations, affect regulation, the nature of psychopathology, and implications for treatment approaches are also examined.