Paper Session C
12. The Self as a Relational Structure
Presenter: |
Steven Stern, PsyD |
Discussant: |
Bruce Herzog, MD |
Self Psychology Page | 23rd Conference Program
Overview
This paper addresses postmodern critiques of the self psychological conception of the self as a unified and stable structure. It is proposed that the self be viewed as a series of momentary relationships between two dimensions of self experience: the primary subjective experience an individual brings to the present moment, and the intersubjectively constituted, now internalized, response to that experience. This momentary relationship may be more or less facilitating of the individual’s primary subjective experience, and determines the overall quality of the individual’s total self experience at that moment. The paper focuses especially on what are termed "identifications with the other’s response to the self" as a central organizer of intersubjectively constituted experience. This form of identification is thought to begin at birth and become part of the individual’s core or "pre-reflective" self. It is argued that this type of identification operates not only under conditions of optimal selfobject responsiveness/frustration (transmuting internalization), but also under non-optimal and traumatic conditions. The implications of this model for therapeutic action are discussed and illustrated with a "difficult" analytic case.