Self psychology was proposed originally by Heinz Kohut. It focuses on developing a stable sense of self through compassionate contacts with others known as “selfobjects.”
The selfobject, often a significant other, meets the needs of the developing self through mirroring, twinship and idealisation. This strengthens the developing self. The process includes a stage called “transmuting internalisations.” During this stage, the patient internalises the selfobject functions that are provided by the therapist.