Notes on Self-psychology

Sources:

Wikipedia entry on Heinz Kohut

Short Paper “A brief review of Self Psychology”

Paper about using Self Psychology with a narcissist patient

Paper an overview of Self Psycology

A paper by Kohut

Quotes and notes:

Treatment - Therapy

• [In Self-Psychology] treatment depends upon upon a corrective therapeutic experience that allows healthy structure to be belatedly formed in a relationship with an empathic therapist.

Concepts

• The Self

  Through the relationship with self objects we develop the core constituents of our personality — the self. The self results as an effect from the interplay between people in the environment whom the child experiences as self objects. Therefore, the relationship that ensues between the infant and child with his or her parents contributes toward the development of a sense of self.

• Empathy

  Repeated empathic failures by parents, and the child’s responses to them, are at the root of almost all psycho-pathology.

  Empathy: understanding so intimate, that the feelings, thoughts and motives of one are readily comprehended by another.

• Self object

  Is the term used to describe objects that a child (or adult) experiences as part of her or his self.

  A selfobject is an extension of the self, over which a degree of control is needed, in order to fulfill certain needs that they cannot meet by themselves. Selfobjects provide emotional stability.

  Self-object needs are internal needs which must be at least partially met by another person.

  When individuals are not able to develop a healthy sense of self, they may tend to rely on others in order to get needs met. These others are called selfobjects (because they are outside the self).

  Children need selfobjects because they are incapable of meeting all of their own needs, but over the course of healthy development, selfobjects become internalized as individuals develop the ability to meet their own needs without relying on external others.

  There are two types of self objects: mirroring self objects are those which confirm a child’s (and adult’s) sense of greatness, perfection, and vigor; and idealized parent imago (image) are those who the child idealizes or looks up to as infallible, omnipotent, and calm.

  It is the relationship with other people that advances the development of a healthy sense of self with the use of “self objects.”

  An object is valued by who they are, and are autonomous, independent centers of their initiatives.

  Self-object development

• Psychotherapy

  Failure of the childhood developmental environment to provide the necessary mirroring responses, fortunately, can be rectified in adulthood by a relationship with a competent psychotherapist. Where the early environment failed to provide needed psychological requirements, a second chance at beneficent internalization can be provided in analytic treatment. Internalization of a repaired psychic structure is the essence of change in psychodynamic psychotherapy.

• Development environment of a child If a child’s developmental environment is appropriate, a healthy sense of self will typically develop, and generally the individual will be able to maintain consistent patterns/experiences and self-regulate and self-soothe throughout life.

• Transference

  Transference is understood as the process in which a person in treatment redirects feelings and desires from childhood to a new object (usually the analyst).

  Kohut formulated three specific types of transferences that reflect unmet selfobject needs:

1. Mirroring: In this type of transference, others serve as a mirror that reflects back a sense of self-worth and value. Just as people use a mirror to check appearance, mirroring transference involves use of the affirming and positive responses of others to see positive traits within the self.

2. Idealizing: Kohut believed individuals need people who will make them feel calm and comfortable. An example of this can be seen in children who run to a parent for comfort after falling and being injured. The external other is idealized as somebody who is calm and soothing when one cannot provide that on their own.

3. Twinship/Alter Ego: Kohut suggested that people need to feel a sense of likeness with others. For example, children want to be similar to their parents and mimic the behaviors they observe. Over the course of healthy development, a child becomes more able to tolerate differences.

• Healthy Narcisism Narcissism is a normal part of child development, according to self psychology theory. Children may often fantasize that they have superpowers and/or see their parents as omnipotent; Kohut believed such childhood experiences should be encouraged as over time, children generally begin to recognize that their inflated perceptions of the self and their parents are unrealistic. Children who are growing up in a supportive environment are typically able to weather the resulting frustration and disappointment and develop a healthy degree of narcissism, leading to a secure and resilient sense of self.

Insufficient parental empathy may contributes to the development of a narcissistic personality. Empathy may be insufficient when a parent cannot react to or adequately nurture a child, is unable to meet the selfobject needs of a child, or if the dispositions of the parent and the child do not easily align. Any or all of these may affect the child’s ability to meet their own needs later in life.