Self psychology: Theory and clinical application

Authors

  • Frank Lachmann

Abstract

The origins of self psychology are traced from Freud’s “On Narcissism" and "Analysis Terminable and Interminable', and Hartmann’s later clarification of narcissism to Kohut’s reconceptualization of narcissism in “The Analysis of the Self”. In contrast to prior work, Kohut understood narcissistic pathology to be a consequence of the patient’s structural vulnerability derived from repeated ruptures in the patient’s ties to parental figures in childhood. In the transference these vulnerable ties were revived in relation to the analyst.

The current self psychology literature has built on Kohut’s work, elaborated some aspects of it and challenged others, for example, the exclusive role of the selfobject concept in defining the transference. A case is presented to illustrate transference as a foreground-background relationship between a selfobject dimension and representational configurations.

Keywords:
Narcissism, selfobject, self pathology, representational configurations, empathy, transference.

Author Biography

Frank Lachmann

Frank M. Lachmann, Ph.D., geb. 1929 in Breslau, Lehr- und Kontrollanalytiker, Supervisor, klinischer Psychologe, Lehrbeauftragter an mehreren Universitäten, Leiter des „Institute for the Psychoanalytic Study of Subjectivity“ New York.

Korrespondenz: Dr. Frank M. Lachmann, 393 West End Avenue, New York, NY 10024

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Published

1996-01-01

How to Cite

Lachmann, F. (1996). Self psychology: Theory and clinical application. Psychotherapie-Wissenschaft, 4(1), 1–8. Retrieved from https://psychotherapie-wissenschaft.info/article/view/656

Issue

No. 1 (1996): Psychotherapie Forum 4/1 (veröffentlicht bei Springer Wien New York)

Section

Original Work

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