[Delinquency as an expression of narcissism and borderline disorder. Institutional and individual therapeutic...

The author reports on his therapeutic activity with delinquent youngsters in a Swiss penal institution where the principle of pedagogical "correction" has been eschewed in favour of that of a therapeutic community. He traces the success of this institution largely to the fact that the formation of psychoanalytically oriented, theme-centered groups acts as a factor militating against splitting processes among the therapists themselves. In the author's view, delinquency derives from narcissistic and borderline disorders, discussed here with reference to Kohut and Kernberg.