THE DEVELOPMENTAL PROFILE - THE PSYCHODYNAMIC DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY

The developmental profile brings to light those forces or rules that determine habitual behavior. Individuals are characterized by the development of their social skills, their object relationships and self-awareness, their norms and ideals, the nature of the things that give them pleasure, and the manner in which they react to distressing situations. Information is collected using a semistructured interview. Interpretation takes place by means of a registration protocol in which the items are defined in observational terms, both quantitatively and qualititatively. The present article describes the advantages of this type of psychodynamic personality diagnosis, the development of this form of diagnosis by Anna Freud and Otto Kernberg, the theoretical frame of reference, and the practical application of the developmental profile.