Keywords
sense of self, pre-verbal, intersubjectivity, affect theory, infant-mother, relational
Sandra explores the concept of the Self developing from an infant to an adult, through connections with Self-psychological theory of Heinz Kohut and the infant development theorist, Daniel Stern, to expand on Personal experience or Inner Life and Interactive Intersubjective Space. Through clinical examples Sandra describes how this conceptual understanding is applied to her therapeutic work. In summary, she writes: “Through Kohut’s concept of Self as an organization of experience and consolidation of agency in the service of talents, ambitions, and ideals, I have found a non-shaming and development-supporting theory for understanding and framing clients’ needs and treatment goals. The invariant patterns of awareness identify more ‘bite-size’ aspects of the self-promoting experiences and give me landmarks upon which to focus as well as measure my interventions. Whether working verbally or non-verbally, the concept of Self guides my therapeutic work toward growth and expressive embodied personhood.” (pp 2-6)