Abstract

Our contemporary period is marked by what Wallerstein has called "the great metapsychological debate." That is, many of the changes shown today strike at the very heart of psychoanalysis, through a questioning and reformulation of many of its basic assumptions,through creative re-readings, or in some cases transformations in what was thought to be the very essence of analytic work. However diverse these new directions may be from one another, they appear united in one respect: to unhinge psychoanalysis from its classical approach, and provide alternative metapsychological visions more faithful to human psychological life, as that transpires in the theatre of psychoanalytic practice. All this brings us to the new "Self Psychology" of Heinz Kohut. Perhaps more than any other contemporary development, Self Psychology has had the most powerful impact on the previously institutionalized orientations within the psychoanalytic community. Kuhn has taught us that following a revolution in scientific paradigms, old data are seen in a new light and new discoveries, are included within that vision. In short, the world changes for the scientist after major revolutions in a given discipline. Accordingly, in what follows, I want to take you into Kohut's altered vision of psychoanalysis, with a particular emphasis on his novel discoveries, and the role these played in his revisioning of the clinical relationship. 2012 APA, all rights reserved)