Book excerpt: Personality disorder can be conceived as the result of a disruption on the development of self. The Metaphor of Play looks at how borderline psychiatric patients can be treated by understanding their sense of self and the fragility of their sense of existence. Based on the Conversational Model, this book demonstrates that the play of a pre-school child, and a mental activity similar to it in the adult, is necessary to the growth of a healthy self. The three sections of the book: Development, Disruption and Amplification and Integration, cover subjects including: *Play and the sense of self *The role of toys *Transference and trauma *Coupling, Amplification and representation This highly readable and lucid presentation of the role of play in the development of the self will be of interest to all psychotherapists involved in the treatment of personality disorders.