LCSW "Self Psychology Theory" Heinz Kohut

Self-Psychology

by Heinz Kohut is known for the self-psychology theory through his work with narcissistic patients. Is uniquie because It acknowledges the interrelationship between the social structure and the personality development.

According to Self-psychology

Children are born into warm, nuturing and empathertic environments comprised of self-objects.

Self-Objects

is the childs perception of otehr people and objects as part of himself.

Empathertic Mirroring

decvribes the proself process by which the selfobject mother, mirrors the child. It was refers to the child taht the selfobject hears and understands the childs needs.

Contray to the Object relations theroy

Self psychology believes taht it is the self-selfobject relationship that is central to psychological functioning and not the self-object.

Transmuting Internalization

the process in which an individual attains a cohesive self by transforming positive healthy objects into an internalized self-structure.

Kohut beleived

that narcissism was an integral part of normal and abnormal development. Two types of narcissism (towards self, toward the object). narcissism occurs when a child is deprived of an empathic environment. Without empathertic mirroring, a child is unable to transform the initial grandiose and idealized images of the self-objects i.e parents, into a realistic healthy self.