The forward edge transference within self-psychology and the activation of inborn capacity through interpretation and internalization

This paper builds on the ideas of self-psychologists Marian Tolpin and Richard Geist in two ways. Firstly, the idea of using forward edge transference as fostering the promotion of psychological health and well-being. I present two verbatim clinical examples showing the use of forward edge transference, and thus the intersubjective engagement between therapist and patient. I suggest that forward edge transference, rooted in healthy and self-affirming childhood experiences, can lie buried and forgotten. Secondly, using the same two examples, this paper adopts the notion of interpretation as a carrier of selfobject functions and shows how the interpretation of forward edge transferences has the potential to catalyse (forgotten) inborn capacity. Internalization, a part of selfobject function and psychic development, is re-thought of as a process in which an interaction between patient and therapist appears to (re)activate inborn potential/capacity for the patient rather than as something the patient ‘takes in’ from the other/selfobject.

The application of contemporary self psychology to couple psychotherapy

This article summarises what the author sees as contemporary self psychology's main contributions to understanding and treating couples. The concepts of selfobject experience and needs, the "forward edge" of even very dysfunctional behaviour, and the centrality of the sense of self, add to our understanding of couples and the reasons for their difficulties. In addition, the theory's emphasis on listening from the patient's point of view, empathic attunement, viewing the therapist as a source of selfobject experience for the patient, close attention to narcissistic vulnerability and the rupture and repair sequence, and a collaborative, experiencenear interpretive process are all at least as useful in couple treatment as they are in individual treatment. From this perspective, the goal of couple therapy is to improve the partners' abilities to function as a reliable source of attuned selfobject experience for each other by targeting the various factors that interfere with their doing so, detailed in this article. The article also proposes that in some cases, psychoeducation, coaching, or suggestions can be experienced by the partners as attuned selfobject responses and/or can facilitate such responses between them, and thus can be appropriately part of a fundamentally psychoanalytic couple treatment.

Self Psychology: The Ethics of Oneness

A person's life and work, as recounted in a full-scale biography, is always a vibrant opportunity to touch the riddle's core, reflecting the sublime human yearning to see beyond the veil separating “I” from “other.” This is especially true in respect to Heinz Kohut, the founding father of self psychology. Strozier's (2001) monumental biography is used for a philosophical and historical scrutiny of Kohut's quest for the Grand Unity embodied in the monistic principle of holistic totality. This vision of laying the foundations of a supra-personal dimension in which the personal and the interpersonal amalgamate into an entangled universe is advocated as the spiritual core of Kohut's oeuvre. The vertical split between One Person Psychology and Two Person Psychology is, thus, healed by Kohut's revolutionary role in creating, explicitly and implicitly, a new kind of ethics in psychoanalysis: the ethics of Oneness.

Optimal Control of Mathematical Models on The Dynamics Spread of Drug Abuse

This article examines the optimal control of a mathematical model of the spread of drug abuse. This model consists of five population classes, namely susceptible to using drugs (S), light-grade drugs (A), heavy-grade drugs (H), medicated drugs (T), and Recovery from drugs (R). The system is solved using the Pontryagin minimum principle and numerically by the forward-backward sweep method. Numerical simulations of the optimal problem show that with the implementation of anti-drug campaigns and strengthening of self-psychology through counseling, the spread of drug abuse can be eradicated more quickly. The implementation of campaigns and strengthening of self-psychology through large amounts of counseling needs to be done from the beginning then the proportion can be reduced until a certain time does not need to be given anymore. The use of control in the form of strengthening efforts to self-psychology through counseling means that it needs to be done in a longer time to prevent the spread of drug abuse.

A Case Formulation of Avoidant Personality based on Self Psychology Approach

The present paper focuses on Self Psychology Approach and a case study following this approach. First, Self Psychology Theory will be introduced following the main ideas of theory’s founder Heinz Kohut. In this part, the structure and development of self, selfobject needs and self disorders will be explained. Mainly, two selfobject needs (mirroring and idealizing need) will be the focus. Following this introduction to the theory, self-psychologically oriented psychotherapy process will be discussed along with its major intervention principles. Then, a case with avoidant personality characteristics will be introduced and formulated according to Self Psychology. The case will be conceptualized as a self disorder; and the narcissistic needs possibly not enough met during childhood will be emphasized. At the final part, the psychotherapy process, and experiences of the therapist will be shared. Through this study, it is aimed to highlight that psychotherapists should focus on clients’ needs, stay in the here-in-now, listen, make an effort to understand, and show this effort to the clients. It is also emphasized that ruptures during therapy should not be the moments that therapists should be afraid of, but instead they should be perceived as opportunities for the growth of clients as well as the therapeutic relationship. Keywords: Self psychology, avoidant personality, case study, self disorders, narcissistic needs