Historical Perspective

Abstract

Earlier psychoanalytic thinkers, with their humanistic orientations, anticipated Heinz Kohut s theories and, therefore, contributed to the historical evolution of self psychology. Carl Rogers, a founder of humanistic psychology in the United States, was a theorist who struggled with many of the same issues as Kohut. Rogers had new ways of looking at therapy, and especially at the therapeutic ambience, ways that foreshadowed the discoveries of Kohut. This article discusses areas of compatibility of the 2 theorists, such as their focus on empathy and the self, to encourage a rapprochement between humanistic psychotherapy and self psychology. Kohut revolutionized psychoanalysis by making it more humanistic. In that revolution, many of Rogers s empirically tested ideas were incorporated into a comprehensive psychoanalytic theory and clinical method. Because of the areas of mutual concerns and overlap, a fuller appreciation of Rogers s important ideas will be beneficial to self psychology.