Self or No-Self: Is There a Middle Way?

Abstract

Compares the Buddhist teaching of anatta (no-self) with Kohut's theory of the cohesive self. Opines that such a comparison reflects how the Buddhist teaching of “the middle way” provides a bridge to self psychology theory, while other Buddhist precepts render its solution to suffering incomplete and a probable cause of more suffering. Suggests that reciprocal understandings of a Western psychology of the self and an Eastern spiritual tradition can be applied to the practice of psychotherapy.