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Extending Kohut’s Concept of Selfobject: The Undifferentiated Selfobject

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Abstract

This paper highlights and adds to the understanding of the undifferentiated selfobject, an extension of Kohut’s contributions of mirror, twinship and idealizing selfobjects. Introduced by Rowe in (2005), the undifferentiated selfobject follows Kohut’s teaching that there are still selfobjects that have not been discovered and which, therefore, have remained unanalyzed. This paper offers an understanding of the importance of the undifferentiated selfobject in the treatment of a depressed and potentially suicidal woman.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The New York Institute for Psychoanalytic Self Psychology, 230 West End Avenue, Suite 1D, New York, NY, 10023-3662, USA

    Crayton E. Rowe Jr.

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  1. Crayton E. Rowe Jr.
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Correspondence to Crayton E. Rowe Jr..

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Rowe, C.E. Extending Kohut’s Concept of Selfobject: The Undifferentiated Selfobject. Clin Soc Work J 41, 26–33 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-011-0361-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-011-0361-2

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