ABSTRACT
In terms of the intrapsychic realm, we focus on the relationship between self as subject and self as object. The self as subject refers to the `I' who observes, organizes and constructs the `Me', my self concept, my mental representation of myself as I operate in the world, a view of myself as an object amongst other objects (Fonagy et al., 2002). Aron (1998/2000: 5) refers to the `I' as `the self-as-knower', the self as subject and as agent. This he contrasts to the `Me' ± which he describes as `all that a person can know about oneself through one's own observations or through feedback from others . . . the more objective aspect of the self' (p. 5). Much of the psychological literature focuses on the selfas-object, on how I perceive myself among others, on my self concept. Less attention has been paid to the self as knower, as the subject and organizer of my experience. Fonagy et al. (2002) consider it a signi®cant developmental milestone when a child develops a `theory of mind', a sense of being an `I' in relation to the `I' of the other who has different thoughts, feelings, intentions, etc. from myself, a process that supports re¯ective functioning and the process of mentalization.
