ABSTRACT
Critics of self psychology mistakenly assume that the therapeutic action of self psychology is primarily found in the provision of empathy. Thus, they conclude, somewhat dismissively, that self psychology is a superficial therapy because it is merely another version of the discredited corrective emotional experience. One of the reasons for the failure of critics to appreciate the richness and depth of the self psychological approach to treatment has been the difficulty for self psychology of incorporating the role of interpretation into the theory of selfobject functioning. The aim of this chapter is to locate interpretation firmly within the theory of selfobject functioning.
