ABSTRACT
As we have seen, Kohut was a serious student of Freud, and his early papers, as well as his course, reveal the classical grounding that support the structure of his later work. Interwoven within the fabric of Kohut's early work are strands of subtle texture and tone that he eventually weaves together to form the new cloth of a psychology of the self. His early papers contain repeating themes. The first is his intense interest in Freud's metapsychology, with a particular focus on the genetic, dynamic and psychoeconomic points of view. A second theme is Kohut's interest in narcissistic issues, expressed in his concern about vulnerable people and their struggle to regulate tension and maintain psychic cohesion. A third theme concerns the method of data collection in the analytic situation. I believe that this triad of themes-metapsychology, narcissism and method of investigation - holds the major organizing principles Kohut employed when he entered a psychological field.
