I do not have such a belief myself’ – An interview with Otto Kernberg on psychoanalysis, religion and belief in a personal God

In September 2017, we had the opportunity to in terview dr. Otto Kernberg on his views about psy choanalysis and religion. Dr. Kernberg was one of the experts present at the 15th Congress of the International Society for the Study of Personality Disorders (ISSPD) in Heidelberg. At the age of 89, his influence and importance in the fields of psychiatry and psychotherapy is widely recognized. Since the 1960’s, his extensive theoretical and empirical work has integrated psychoanalytic perspectives with descriptive and biological approaches. In particular, he is one of the main figures in the field of borderline and narcissistic psychopathology. His writings on religion and spirituality (2000, 2008, 2010) are of relatively recent date and seem to be less well-known. Dr. Kernberg is critical of Sigmund Freud’s position on religion, while also affirming and elaborating on Freud. In this respect, his work is reminiscent of the writings of AnaMaria Rizzuto and William Meissner, psychoanalysts whose work is more well-known in the psychology of religion and among those working with religious patients. The interviewers conduct psychotherapy with religious (Christian) patients and are researchers in the field of psychology and religion, with a focus on God representations. Heidelberg proved to be a fitting location for the interview, as in 1563 a Catechism that has been influential in the Reformation and churches springing from it, was published here.