Which theorist is associated with Self Psychology?

Which theorist is associated with Self Psychology?

• A. Heinz Kohut
• B. D. W. Winnicott
• C. Margaret Mahler
• D. Judith Rubin

Answer: (A)

Self Psychology focuses on how the sense of self is formed and maintained through relationships that provide empathic attunement and shared experience. Heinz Kohut developed this approach, arguing that people rely on selfobjects—others who reflect, idealize, and form a sense of twinship with the self—to build and regulate their self-cohesion. In therapy, the therapist acts as a selfobject, offering accurate empathy, mirroring, and, when needed, supportive experiences of idealization or imagined sameness. This empathic engagement helps restore a stable sense of self and better emotional regulation. When selfobjects are missing or inconsistent, the self can become fragile, leading to vulnerabilities such as narcissistic defenses and difficulties with self-esteem. Winnicott is known for ideas about the holding environment and the true self versus false self within object relations theory, whereas Mahler centers on separation-individuation in early development. Judith Rubin is associated with art therapy and is not linked to Self Psychology.

Self Psychology focuses on how the sense of self is formed and maintained through relationships that provide empathic attunement and shared experience. Heinz Kohut developed this approach, arguing that people rely on selfobjects—others who reflect, idealize, and form a sense of twinship with the self—to build and regulate their self-cohesion. In therapy, the therapist acts as a selfobject, offering accurate empathy, mirroring, and, when needed, supportive experiences of idealization or imagined sameness. This empathic engagement helps restore a stable sense of self and better emotional regulation. When selfobjects are missing or inconsistent, the self can become fragile, leading to vulnerabilities such as narcissistic defenses and difficulties with self-esteem.

Winnicott is known for ideas about the holding environment and the true self versus false self within object relations theory, whereas Mahler centers on separation-individuation in early development. Judith Rubin is associated with art therapy and is not linked to Self Psychology.