Includes bibliographical references (p. [213]-233) and index.

The challenges to psychoanalytic theories from developmental research -- Developmental research on the embodied and relational roots of self-agency -- The neurobiology of the self and of self-agency -- From action and imitation to empathy and mentalization -- When words do not mean what they say: self-agency and the coercive use of language -- The fear of love: the loss of agency in relationship -- The abuse of an object and relating through incorporation -- The analytic relationship: integrating psychodynamic, attachment theory, and developmental perspectives -- The effect of the therapist's clinical approach on the patient's sense of self-agency.