This paper discusses several different points of view in an effort to define the elusive and often confusing concept of “self”, and to differentiate it from “ego”, a term which has, at times, been used synonymously with it. The concept of self is then discussed in relation to its usefulness in normal, healthy individuals as well as those with psychological problems.
References
1.
MearesR.The doubleness of self. Paper read to the Faculty of Psychotherapy (MM Program), University of Sydney, 1992.
2.
KohutH.The restoration of the self. New York: International Universities Press, 1977.
3.
MearesR.The metaphor of play: on self, the secret and the borderline experience. Melbourne: Hill of Content, 1992.
4.
DetrickDWDetrickSP.Self psychology: comparisons and contrasts. Hillsdale, NJ: Analytic Press, 1989.
5.
MearesR.The secret and the self: on a new direction in psychotherapy. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry1987; 21:545–559.
MearesROrlayW.On self boundary: a study of the development for the concept of secrecy. British Journal of Medical Psychology1988; 61:305–316.
8.
MahlerMPineFBergmanA.The psychological birth of the human infant. New York: Basic Books, 1975.
9.
RycroftC.A critical dictionary of psychoanalysis. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1968.
10.
MearesR.The fragile Spielraum: an approach to transmuting internalisation. In: GoldbergS, ed. Progress in self psychology. Hillsdale, NJ: Analytic Press, 1990; 6:69–89.
11.
HartmannH.Ego psychology and the problem of adaption. New York: International Universities Press, 1958.
12.
FreudS.An outline of psychoanalysis. In: FreudS. Complete psychological works. Standard edition. Vol. 23. London: Hogarth, 1939.
13.
JungCG.Psychology and alchemy. In: The collected works of CG Jung. Vol. 12. ReadHFordhamMAlderG, eds. Hull R, transl. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1968: Bollinger Series XX, 1968a.
14.
KohutHWolfE.The disorders of the self and their treatment: an outline. International Journal of Psychoanalysis1978; 59:413–425.
15.
KohutH.How does analysis cure?Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1984.
16.
RoweCEMacIssacDS.Empathic attunement. The “technique” of psychoanalytic self psychology. New Jersey: Jason Aronson, 1989.
17.
KohutH.The analysis of the self. New York: International Universities Press, 1971.
18.
WolfES.Treating the self: elements of clinical self psychology. New York: Guilford, 1988.
19.
LewisM.Shame: the exposed self. New York: Free Press, 1992.
20.
BaschMF.Understanding psychotherapy: the science behind the art. New York: Basic Books, 1988.