Self psychology

Self psychology is a form of psychoanalytic theory and treatment that focuses on a person’s self-perception of their experiences and memories and how this affects their behavior. When the theory was initiated in the 1970s, it represented a departure from the more popular theories in use at the time. Self psychology introduced the necessity of the therapist empathizing with the patient. Instead of the therapist looking at the person’s past experiences and applying an interpretation of how those experiences were impacting behavior, self psychology practitioners focus on how the patient feels their experiences are contributing to their condition. Although it is a relatively new form of therapy, it is considered a valid approach to helping some patients understand and adjust their behavior.

Background

The ancient Greeks explored the idea that the mind and body were two separate parts of a human being. However, the separate discipline of studying the mind began in earnest in the mid-nineteenth century. In the 1870s, German physiologist Wilhelm Wundt began studying how human thought and behavior affected a person’s response time to stimuli. The psychology lab he opened in 1879 is considered the birthplace of psychology.

Psychologists soon developed their own methods of practicing this new science. One of them was the Austrian physician Sigmund Freud. In the mid-1880s, Freud began studying nervous disorders. He believed that many problems people faced were the result of their unconscious thoughts and feelings. Freud thought that these mental processes occurred without a person being aware of them and were a key factor in mental and emotional illnesses. He developed the technique of psychoanalysis, or having people talk about their past experiences, dreams, and memories, as a way of determining the cause of their conditions.

According to Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis, many problems people experienced had sexual origins. He believed that a child’s development of a sexual identity could be impacted if he or she received too much or too little gratification from their earliest sexual urges. According to Freud, this could happen because of abuse, a too close or too distant relationship with parents, or other factors.

The idea that sexual drives were at the root of behavior continued to be a prevalent theory in psychology until the 1970s. The Austrian psychoanalyst Heinz Kohut became dissatisfied with the results he was getting for some of his patients using Freud’s method. His process—which he called self psychology—was based on the child’s overall relationship with the parent. He believed that most psychological problems could be traced to children whose parents lacked empathy for their situation. For instance, a child whose parents belittled their fears might grow up to be either excessively fearful or an extreme risk-taker. This was their way of compensating for what they did not receive from their parents in childhood.

Kohut’s theory quickly grew in popularity. During the 1970s, he published three books outlining his theories. These included The Analysis of the Self: A Systematic Approach to the Psychoanalytic Treatment of Narcissistic Personality Disorders, published in 1971, The Restoration of the Self, published in 1978, and The Search for the Self: Selected Essays of Heinz Kohut, published in two volumes in 1979.

Overview

Self psychology is centered around empathy. Kohut’s theory that mental and emotional challenges were the result of a lack of empathy in childhood led him to focus his methods on empathizing with the patient. Instead of the psychoanalyst imposing his or her interpretations of a person’s experiences, memories and dreams, the analyst strives to understand things from the perspective of the patient.

Self psychology recognizes that if a person is not able to develop a strong sense of self, they look for ways to compensate for that lack. Self is a challenging concept to define, but it is generally a person’s perception of who they are. This includes the positive and negative ways in which they view their own thoughts, actions, and abilities and the behavior patterns that develop from those. A person who does not develop a healthy concept of themselves will often look for other ways to make up for that. Kohut referred to these ways as self-objects or substitutes for a healthy self. The person then redirects their feelings and unmet needs to this self-object.

Kohut developed three main definitions for this transference to self-objects: idealizing, mirroring, and twinship. In idealizing, the person turns to someone who can provide what they are lacking, such as an authority figure who can provide security when they are scared. Mirroring involves incorporating the positive things others reflect about a person’s traits into one’s self-image. Twinship, sometimes called alter ego, is related to a person’s need to feel the same as someone else, copying and reflecting their behaviors and traits.

Kohut specifically thought that a lack of empathy in childhood played a key role in the development of narcissism. Narcissism is a form of self-centeredness that causes a person to focus almost exclusively on their own needs and wants, to need excessive amounts of admiration from others, to see others as inferior, and to lack empathy with others. Kohut believed all children naturally have a form of narcissism where they think they are the center of the universe, coupled with fantasies that they or their parents have unlimited powers. Kohut theorized that when a child growing up in an environment without adequate empathy begins to realize these things are not true, they can develop narcissistic behaviors.

Much of his focus on the need for an empathetic response from the psychoanalyst developed from Kohut’s experience with a patient known as Miss F. Her insistence on having Kohut agree with her interpretation of her past experiences and their impact on her behavior and emotions helped him see the importance of an empathetic relationship between patient and therapist. It was only after he adopted an empathetic response to her that her therapy progressed.

Although self psychology has become an important practice since its origin, critics point to some limitations. They suggest that it is nothing more than supporting a person’s self-perception and is therefore unlikely to have any lasting effect. Others point out that it omits some key aspects of psychological trauma, such as unconscious responses and behavior drives, that are essential to treating a person’s overall mental health.

Bibliography

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Kelly, William A. “Perspectives: Self Psychology.” Saint Louis Psychoanalytic Institute, www.stlpi.org/perspectives-self-psychology/. Accessed 6 Sept. 2023.

Ngiam, Jessica. “Narcissism: Heinz Kohut’s Thoughts on Self-Love.” Depth Counseling, 21 Dec. 2020, depthcounseling.org/blog/ngiam-narcissism-kohut. Accessed 6 Sept. 2023.

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“What Is Self Psychology?” Self Psychology Psychoanalysis, www.selfpsychologypsychoanalysis.org/about.html. Accessed 6 Sept. 2023.