Self Psychology

Developed by Heinz Kohut while at the University of Chicago, self psychology is psychoanalytic at its core. However, there are crucial differences in how the patient-therapist relationship is viewed. In Self Psychology, the therapist uses empathy to gain the patient's trust. Once the patient trusts the therapist, he or she will talk more, thus enabling the therapist to gather more and better information and thus to make more accurate interpretations. Self psychological theory proposes that healthy self-development proceeds from adequate responsiveness of caregivers to the child's vital emotional needs, including alterego needs, idealizing needs, and mirroring needs.