Understanding inner psychotic experience in the light of Kohut's self psychology

Kohut's self psychology is regarded as a distinct psychoanalytic theory of development and therapy. It places the self and the self-object experience at the center of a multifacetted psychology. In this paper, the writer tries to describe the concepts of Kohut in interpreting inner psychotic experience. A person with schizophrenia is caught up within the conflict of object dependence and protection of self from others. Inner psychotic experience, especially hallucinations and delusions, are manifestations of the grandiose self and the omnipotent selfobject and finally results in self fragmentation. By means of a case illustration, the writer applies the concept of Kohut in the therapy of a person suffering from schizophrenia.Department of Applied Social Science