Abraham Maslow and Heinz Kohut

Abstract

In this article we present a comparison of the lives and work of Abraham Maslow, a founding father of humanistic psychology, and Heinz Kohut, the founding father of self psychology. While this comparison reveals certain predictable differences between these distinct leaders and their theoretical orientations, it also reveals surprising similarities in terms of their visions, their theories, and their lives. In addition, this comparison indicates that self psychology can provide an empirical bridge between humanistic psychology and modern psychoanalysis. This finding is particularly important at a time when the humanistic psychology community has identified the need to move away from ideology and to focus on humanistic psychology's empirical and clinical foundations, as one of its primary strategic challenges. The person in the peak-experiences feels more integrated (unifiled, whole, all-of-a-piece), than at other times,... more integrated,... more harmoniously organized, more synergic,... In Roger's nice phrase, he feels "fully-functioning,"... responsible, active,... more creative.... (Maslow, 1968, pp. 104-108) The successful end of the analysis... has been reached when the analysand's formally enfeebled or fragmented nuclear self... has become sufficiently strengthened and consolidated to be able to function as a more or less self-propelling, self-directed, and self-sustaining unit which provides a central purpose to his personality and gives a sense of meaning to his life. (Kohut, 1977, pp. 138-139)