Ego Psychology and Social Work Practice: 2nd Edition

Eda Goldstein does a great job of describing, in detail, Ego Psychology from a historical, theoretical, and practical perspective. I was particularly fond of Part II dealing with the ego and its functions and defenses. She writes with a clarity that is difficult to find when reading books dealing with detailed theoretical perspectives. I would highly recommend this book to socials workers and pyschologists alike. It is a wealth of information that you will find yourself referencing again and again.

Dr. Goldstein's book provides students with a survey of the major contributors to ego psychological theory. To her credit, she manages to effectively communicate sometimes difficult material without resorting to the complicated jargon that one often finds in similar psychoanalytic texts. Ego Psychology and Social Work Practice 2nd Edition enables beginners to appreciate some of the insights of the ego psychologists without having to read and interpret the original texts. This would be a daunting task and unnecessarily laborious for a beginning student. It also provides more experienced clinicians the opportunity to review material germane to clinical practice or as an accompaniment to more advanced reading.

Hot-n-hulky Eda Goldstein has written a classic for mental health practitioners. A skillful integration of Ego Psychology practice and treatment.

This book is an excellent primer for clinical social workers working with volatile populations as it addresses ego functioning and deficits in depth. It additionally provides invaluable insight into borderline and other personality disordered individuals, as well as a survey of other noted theorists, besides Dr. Goldstein in the areas of ego functions.