The psychotherapy of schizophrenia: Semrad's contributions to current psychoanalytic concepts.

Elvin Semrad's contributions to the understanding and psychotherapy of schizophrenia are described. The author defines the principles that guided Semrad in his theoretical understanding of schizophrenic patients, and elaborates the practical application of these principles. Semrad's contributions are related to recent work by Winnicott and Kohut on the holding environment and on the self-object and narcissistic transferences. The author's formulations about the relationship of schizophrenic regressions to borderline and narcissistic personalities, and the relevance of Semrad's work to these concepts, are reviewed.