Commentary on Frank Summers's “Kohut's Vision and the Nuclear Program of the Self”

Abstract

In discussing Summers's article on Kohut's nuclear program of the self, the author highlights what he takes to be the Summers's rather bold return to old-school self psychology and Summers's bucking of some prevailingly fashionable relational trends. Summers's doing so provides what the author terms “room for thinking,” which allows for expanded considerations of the ways we have become accustomed to think about particular topics. In the author's discussion, he focuses on two topics that opened as a result of Summers's provocative approach: The first concerns the parallels between Kohut's conception of the nuclear program of the self and Winnicott's notion of the “true self,” and the second topic revolves around important clinical issues in the treatment of “Doug,” described by Summers in his article.