Application Of Self Psychology Research Articles

Response to MacIntosh’s Review and Discussion of the Psychoanalytic Couple Therapy Journal Literature: A Self Psychological, Intersubjective Perspective

ABSTRACTAfter expressing my appreciation to Heather MacIntosh and highlighting her article’s significant contributions to the field, I comment briefly on some of the implications of her methodology and findings. I then elaborate on her summary of the history of the application of self psychology (Kohut, 1971) and intersubjective systems theory (Stolorow, Brandshaft, and Atwood, 1987) to couple therapy, highlighting the key contributions of both theories and describing the current state of the field.

Self Psychology and Male Child Sexual Abuse: Healing Relational Betrayal

The prevalence of male child sexual abuse (MCSA) is higher than initially thought with up to 26 % of men in community samples reporting sexual abuse in childhood, and up to 36 % of men in clinical samples reporting childhood sexual abuse. Disclosure of MCSA is complex because of men’s difficulties in viewing themselves as victims, especially of sexual violence. This difficulty is exacerbated by societal attitudes that sexual abuse rarely occurs with boys, and is further complicated with the taboo of victimization by same sex perpetrators. Too often, the response to disclosure is disbelief and minimization. For these reasons disclosure is often delayed or withheld thus prolonging the abuse. The negative effects of child sexual abuse are well documented and far reaching with depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, addictions, sexual dysfunction and impaired interpersonal relations as common presenting issues in therapy. Treatment is indicated for significant numbers of male survivors. This paper identifies aspects of interpersonal relational difficulties commonly experienced by male sexual abuse survivors, and describes self psychology as guiding a clinical approach to address these interpersonal difficulties. The application of self psychology with male sexual abuse survivors is traced and discussed through the use of a clinical case study with Adam.

New Applications of Self Psychology to Group Psychotherapy: Introduction

Over the last 15 years, many writers have applied self psychology to group treatment. Arensberg’s (1990) work, one of the most comprehensive, extends Kohut’s (1971) concept of selfobject tranferences to the group setting and discusses their unfolding and working through in group therapy. There are now several core works that focus on dealing therapeutically with these transferences and other group processes from a self psychological perspective, including Stone and Whitman’s (1980) and Shapiro’s (1991) papers on the role of empathy in the creation of safety in the deepening of the group therapy process, Bacal’s (1991) exposition on “responsiveness and reactiveness” in groups, and my own contributions that stress underlying vulnerability (Livingston, 1999, 2001). The more recent literature contains collections of papers devoted to a wide range of applications of self psychology to group therapy (Livingston & Harwood, 2001; Harwood & Pines, 1998; Segalla, 2003). This Special Section of the International Journal of Group Psychotherapy represents the latest thoughts on the application of self psychology to group treatment. Four papers by leading authors in this area are offered: Irene Harwood integrates new ideas from recent work in infant observation studies, attachment research, trauma, and neurobiology and illustrates the application of these theoretical and empirical contributions to the

The Application of Self Psychology to Therapeutic Camps

Camp programs provide children and adolescents with vital opportunities to grow and are recognized as effective social work interventions. Children and adolescents with learning disabilities (LD) are at risk to experience psychosocial difficulties, which may result in difficulty attending regular camps. Self psychology can increase our understanding of these children's camp experiences, because of its focus on the individual's subjectivity and interactions throughout the lifespan and in therapeutic relationships. This paper extends the application of self psychology to therapeutic summer camps with children who have learning disabilities, illustrated through examples. The paper concludes with practice principles.

The application of self-psychology to short-term counselling

This article explores how key aspects of Heinz Kohut's self-psychology can inform short-term counselling work. Initially a summary is offered of Kohut's developmental theory, his understanding of the nature and causes of psychopathology and his view of the analytic cure. The application of his ideas to short-term counselling is then discussed. Specifically, it is suggested that short-term therapeutic work based on self-psychology involves a stronger emphasis on the curative aspects of the selfobject transference between client and therapist, a more limited notion of the role of interpretation, and a different understanding of working through to that of long-term self-psychological analysis.

The application of self psychology to brief psychotherapy.

The application of self psychology to brief psychotherapy.

The application of self psychology to brief psychotherapy.

The application of self psychology to brief psychotherapy.

The application of self psychology to brief psychotherapy.

The application of self psychology to brief psychotherapy.

Understanding and treating sex offenders from a self-psychological perspective: The missing piece

This paper contrasts the view of sex and aggression from the perspective of classical psychoanalytic drive theory (traditional Freudian psychoanalytic thinking) with self-psychological theory (as formulated by Heinz Kohut), which provides a new psychoanalytic paradigm. In addition, the self-psychological formulation of voyeurism and exhibitionism, which are seen as disintegration or breakdown products of the fragmenting self, will be applied to understanding sex offenders. Two case descriptions will illustrate the application of self psychology in the understanding and treatment of sex offenders.

The development and disturbance of emotions: An application of self psychology to clinical work with children

This article applies self psychology, as developed by Heinz Kohut, to clinical work with children. It begins with a brief summary of self psychology as a theoretical framework, focusing on the role of selfobjects in the development of the self. Then, the role of selfobjects in the development and disturbance of emotions is discussed. The paper concludes by describing the treatment implications of the self psychological perspective for clinical work with children, illustrating them through three case vignettes, and identifying certain questions for further inquiry.

Clinical Perspectives on Self Psychology

With the help of several clinical vignettes from the literature, the clinical consequences of the theoretical system of self psychology are examined. In that system pathogenic primacy is given to failures in parental empathy, leading to the technical requirement of providing empathic responses which build a cohesive self through transmuting internalizations. Efforts to extend the application of self psychology to include the psychoneuroses lead to an interactional reparative therapy that compromises interpretation of transference and resistance. Therapeutic change resulting from this approach is seen as essentially different from the processes and transformations set in motion by classical analysis.

Applications of self psychology to the problem of child abuse

This article examines the application of self psychology to the problem of child abuse. The understanding of child abuse has evolved and, through the application of psychoanalytic principles, has come to be viewed as a breakdown in the parent-child relationship. Self psychology provides a furthering of this understanding and suggests treatment modalities. The case illustration demonstrates the usefullness of self psychology in both understanding and treating abusive parents.

Group Composition as an Element of Social Group Work Practice

Previous articleNext article No AccessGroup Composition as an Element of Social Group Work PracticeWilliam ShalinskyWilliam Shalinsky Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Social Service Review Volume 43, Number 1Mar., 1969 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/642327 Views: 64Total views on this site Citations: 6Citations are reported from Crossref Copyright 1969 The University of ChicagoPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Laura MacLeod Act Before You Think: Using Instinct Not Intellect in Groups, Social Work with Groups 39, no.2-32-3 (Apr 2016): 208–220.https://doi.org/10.1080/01609513.2015.1048418Faye Mishna The Application of Self Psychology to Therapeutic Camps, Psychoanalytic Social Work 12, no.11 (Mar 2005): 51–71.https://doi.org/10.1300/J032v12n01_05Faye Mishna, Joseph Michalski, Richard Cummings Camps as Social Work Interventions: Returning to Our Roots, Social Work With Groups 24, no.3-43-4 (Nov 2002): 153–171.https://doi.org/10.1300/J009v24n03_11Geoffrey Channon A Selective Bibliography, Australian Social Work 26, no.22 (Jan 1973): 43–51.https://doi.org/10.1080/03124077308549397 James K. Whittaker Models of Group Development: Implications for Social Group Work Practice, Social Service Review 44, no.33 (Sep 2015): 308–322.https://doi.org/10.1086/642580Beryce W. MacLennan, Naomi Levy The Group Psychotherapy Literature 1969, International Journal of Group Psychotherapy 20, no.33 (Oct 2015): 380–411.https://doi.org/10.1080/00207284.1970.11491773