ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a case study of a girl named Judith. When trying to identify whether Judith is developing a mirroring versus an idealizing selfobject transference to Dr. Steinman, one might be tempted to conclude that since he is acting in the role of a “protector,” that this means that Judith is mobilizing an idealizing type of needed transference to her therapist. After a few sessions on no medications, she came in to the office one afternoon but, instead of sitting in her customary chair, lay on her back on the floor. Traditional psychoanalysis viewed psychopathology as being the result of psychic conflict resulting in symptom formation. Self psychology sees psychopathology not as a result of conflict but rather as a result of deficit, but not in terms of ego deficiencies. The kinds of disturbances encountered with psychotic patients almost always implies that there are early and severe deficits in both poles of the bipolar self.
