Empathic relating and the structure of the self: Parallels in mother-infant and patient-therapist interaction

The self is composed of innate structural units having functional potential which develop into response patterns within the context of a dialectic of intimacy and autonomy. Intimacy may be defined as sharing the subjective experience of oneself with another and experiencing in oneself the subjective experience of the other. Autonomy consists in having the right of selfexpression and in perceiving oneself as a self-governing centre of initiative.