In this landmark volume, Neville Symington sets out his psychoanalytic reconceptualisation of narcissism and its deep-rooted ties to unresolved trauma.

Blending clinical insight and existential reflection, Symington positions narcissism as a universal human tendency, one that arises not from trauma itself but from an unconscious decision made in response to early, formative pain. Moving beyond the established frameworks of Freud and Klein, Narcissism: A New Theory introduces his well-known concept of the lifegiver, examines the effects of narcissism on character development, and shows how narcissistic patterns can be reversed through psychoanalytic work. Clinical vignettes bring his theories vividly to life, while the myth of Narcissus and a sustained reading of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina give the book literary depth, together tracing how narcissistic defences form and, crucially, how they can be undone. The book also sees Symington examine the self-eroticism bound up in narcissism, as well as its outward manifestations, while pointing toward the possibility of recovering a more creative and relational way of living.

With a new foreword by Michael Brearley and Carine Minne, Narcissism: A New Theory remains an essential volume for psychoanalysts in practice and in training, and for any clinician seeking a richer understanding of narcissism's roots, expressions, and potential for transformation.

Neville Symington completed his psychoanalytic training in London and was a Fellow of the British Psychoanalytical Society. He held a senior staff position in the Adult Department of the Tavistock Clinic from 1977–85 and was Chairman of the Psychology Discipline for the Adult and Adolescent Departments. After moving to Australia, he was Chairman of the Sydney Institute for Psychoanalysis from 1987–93, and President of the Australian Psychoanalytical Society from 1999–2002. Symington’s many books include The Making of a Psychotherapist (1997), A Pattern of Madness (2002) and Becoming a Person Through Psychoanalysis (re-issued in 2027). He died in 2019.