Self psychology

Self psychology is a psychoanalytic theory and clinical approach developed by Heinz Kohut between the 1960s and the 1980s. Its starting point is the subjective experience of the self and the basic human need to maintain a stable and cohesive sense of who we are.

Classical Freudian psychoanalysis located the origin of suffering in innate biological drives and unconscious conflicts. Kohut, by contrast, observed that patients with narcissistic disorders did not seem to suffer from a conflict between drives, but from deep injuries to their self-esteem, their sense of grandiosity and the cohesion of their identity. From this perspective, psychological distress is understood as the result of a weakened or insufficiently developed self, often linked to a lack of empathy and responsiveness from caregivers in childhood.

A central idea is the selfobject: a person, object or experience that serves to sustain one's sense of self. In early childhood, selfobjects are mainly parents; later they may be teachers, friends, partners, therapists or social groups. Culture can also play this role through art, science or religion. Kohut described three main selfobject relationships: mirroring, in which the individual seeks recognition and affirmation; idealization, in which a admired figure provides strength and stability; and twinship or alter ego, in which the individual seeks a sense of similarity and belonging.

In clinical practice, empathy is central. Kohut called it "vicarious introspection": the therapist tries to feel and think from within the patient's subjective experience. He argued that this access to a private inner world cannot be reached through external observation alone, and that the empathic bond itself has a healing effect.

Today self psychology is debated. Some regard it as an important development of psychoanalysis, while others see it as closer to Carl Rogers' person-centered therapy. It remains an influential reference in clinical work and in the study of self-esteem, identity and narcissism.