A theory of psychoanalytic psychology and a reconceptualization of the psychoanalytic treatment process developed by heinz kohut (1913–1981) in an effort to transcend the limitations of ego psychology that were highlighted by his experience in treating patients with narcissistic and borderline personality disorders. Self psychology is concerned not with the modulation of drives and the avoidance of conflict, but with the quest for affirmation and actualization in a healthy or an enfeebled self.
Kohut’s variant of psychoanalysis, in which the focus is on the development of a person’s self-worth from acceptance and nurturance by key figures in childhood.