Heinz Kohut’s self psychology represents a significant shift within psychoanalytic thought, moving the focus from instinctual drives and conflict towards the development, cohesion, and maintenance of the self. This contrasts strongly with writers such as Jung and Freud. Central to this model is the concept of selfobjects: people, relationships, and experiences that perform essential psychological functions for the developing and adult self. Although self psychology emerged in the 1970s, its emphasis on attunement, responsiveness, and relational regulation has proven enduringly relevant. In many respects, it anticipates contemporary relational, attachment-based, and trauma-informed approaches.

This article outlines the core principles of Kohut’s self psychology, explains the role of selfobjects, and considers how these ideas are understood and applied in present-day psychotherapy.

The Foundations of Self Psychology

Kohut developed self psychology in response to clinical work with individuals whose difficulties did not fit comfortably within classical psychoanalytic models. Rather than presenting primarily with neurotic conflict, many of these clients struggled with issues of self-esteem, emptiness, shame, and a fragile sense of identity.

In self psychology, the self is understood as an organised structure that provides a sense of continuity, vitality, and coherence. Psychological health depends on the self being sufficiently cohesive and resilient. Disturbance arises not primarily from forbidden wishes or internal conflict, but from deficits or disruptions in early relational experiences that support self-development.

Kohut argued that psychological growth depends on ongoing relational responsiveness rather than early frustration alone. This position marked a clear departure from drive-centred theory and placed empathy at the heart of both development and therapeutic practice.

What Are Selfobjects?

A selfobject is not defined by a particular person, but by a function. A selfobject is experienced as part of the self rather than as a fully separate other. Selfobjects provide essential psychological functions that the individual cannot yet perform independently.

Kohut described three primary selfobject needs:

• Mirroring: the need to be seen, affirmed, and emotionally recognised. Through empathic responses, the child develops self-esteem and a sense of worth.
• Idealising: the need to experience others as calm, strong, or reliable figures with whom one can merge psychologically. This supports internal regulation and the development of internal ideals.
• Twinship (alter-ego relatedness): the need to feel a sense of likeness and belonging with others, supporting social integration and identity.

When these needs are met in a sufficiently attuned way, the individual gradually internalises these functions, developing capacities for self-soothing, self-esteem regulation, and relational stability.

Developmental Failures and Disorders of the Self

From a self psychological perspective, psychological distress often reflects disruptions in selfobject experiences. Chronic misattunement, emotional neglect, or inconsistent caregiving can leave the self vulnerable, fragmented, or dependent on external sources of regulation.

Rather than viewing symptoms as defences against forbidden impulses, self psychology understands them as attempts to stabilise a fragile self. Experiences of shame, emptiness, grandiosity, or emotional collapse can be understood as responses to unmet selfobject needs rather than as character flaws.

This lens is particularly useful when working with individuals who experience longstanding difficulties with self-esteem, identity, or emotional regulation, including those with developmental trauma histories.

The Therapeutic Relationship as a Selfobject

In therapy, the practitioner inevitably becomes a selfobject. Kohut argued that therapeutic change occurs not through interpretation alone, but through the provision of reliable empathic attunement within the therapeutic relationship.

Importantly, self psychology does not aim to eliminate selfobject needs. Instead, it recognises that selfobject experiences remain necessary throughout life. Therapy offers an opportunity for optimal frustration: small, manageable disruptions within an overall empathic relationship that allow clients to internalise self-regulatory capacities over time.

This understanding has had a profound influence on contemporary relational and intersubjective approaches, where the therapist’s emotional presence, responsiveness, and capacity to repair ruptures are central to the work.

Self Psychology in Contemporary Practice

Although self psychology emerged within psychoanalysis, its concepts resonate strongly with modern therapeutic frameworks.

Attachment theory echoes many of Kohut’s observations about the importance of responsive caregiving for emotional regulation and identity formation. Trauma-informed approaches similarly emphasise the role of relational safety and co-regulation in healing developmental wounds.

In relational and intersubjective psychotherapy, selfobject experiences are understood as co-constructed within the therapeutic dyad rather than delivered unilaterally by the therapist. This reflects a move away from one-person psychology towards an emphasis on mutual influence and contextual understanding.

Self psychology has also proven useful in work with neurodivergent clients, where experiences of chronic misattunement or lack of recognition may significantly impact self-cohesion. Here, the emphasis on understanding subjective experience rather than enforcing normative developmental expectations is particularly valuable.

Critiques and Developments

Kohut’s work has not been without criticism. Some have argued that self psychology risks underplaying aggression, conflict, or social power dynamics. Others have questioned whether its focus on empathy adequately addresses structural and cultural factors affecting psychological wellbeing.

Contemporary practitioners often integrate self psychology with broader relational, social, and trauma-aware perspectives. In doing so, selfobject theory is no longer seen as a complete explanatory system, but as a clinically rich framework that deepens understanding of relational need, vulnerability, and resilience.

Conclusion

Kohut’s self psychology remains a vital contribution to psychotherapeutic thinking. Its focus on self-cohesion, empathy, and relational responsiveness offers a compassionate and clinically effective lens for understanding psychological distress. The concept of selfobjects continues to inform contemporary practice, particularly in relational, attachment-based, and trauma-informed work.

By recognising that human beings require ongoing relational support to maintain psychological wellbeing, self psychology challenges pathologising narratives and foregrounds the healing potential of attuned relationships—both within therapy and beyond it.

References

Kohut, H. (1971). The Analysis of the Self. New York: International Universities Press. ISBN: 9780226450124.

Kohut, H. (1977). The Restoration of the Self. New York: International Universities Press. ISBN: 9780226450131.

Kohut, H. (1984). How Does Analysis Cure? Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN: 9780226450346.

Mitchell, S. A. (1988). Relational Concepts in Psychoanalysis. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN: 9780674754119.

Stolorow, R. D., Atwood, G. E., & Orange, D. M. (2002). Worlds of Experience: Interweaving Philosophical and Clinical Dimensions in Psychoanalysis. New York: Basic Books. ISBN: 9780786725915.

Wallin, D. J. (2007). Attachment in Psychotherapy. New York: Guilford Press. ISBN: 9781462522712.