The Process of Constructing the Self and Its Relation to Psychotherapy

Further, it is probable that a substantial number breach the barriers of sexual intimacy with clientsiii (Bajt & Pope, 1989; Bernsen, Tabachnick, & Pope, 1994; Gartrell, Herman, Olarte, & Feldstein, et al., 1987; Pope, Keith-Spiegel, & Tabachnick, 1986). The risk is that, in the inherently reciprocal process of interactive construction of self, the therapist who is threatened by intimacy or whose preconscious models are distorted may function too much like the recipient of service. On the other hand, the therapist who, being aware of this risk, relies on a consciously constructed professional self may present a stiff, false self that clients will intuitively recognize as a sign of vulnerability. In either case, the therapy is hijacked for the benefit of the unsuspecting therapist. The construction of self through interaction with non-self requires two individuals, each of whom is moving through separate processes of change, to bring aspects of themselves into sufficient synchrony to maintain a protective and growth-producing relationship. This is true for children and their parents, for spousal partners, and for clients and psychotherapists. My point is that self is not independent of non-self; it always carries the thumbprint of the non-self. In this way, non-self is an integral part of self. Psychotherapists need to be very knowledgeable about the self that they offer to patients. Only with this knowledge can they expect to bring appropriate aspects of themselves into harmony with the developmental needs of their clients. Being able to do this is probably equally critical for parental attachment figures and for psychotherapists functioning as temporary corrective attachment figures. Multiplicity of potential selves The array of differently processed representations of different relationships creates a multiplicity of potential self-organizations. The ways in which these are connected is integral to the self. That is, each of us could be any number of different selves and, indeed, we are somewhat different with different people and under different circumstances. The goal of psychotherapy is not to rid the individual of distorted forms of self and their associated selfprotective strategies.