Self-as-Agent in Psychoanalysis

The position of the self in psychoanalytic theory is reviewed and the conclusion is drawn that the most functional concept of the self for psychoanalytic purposes is that of a supraordinate and structural construct with the tripartite entities as component substructural systems. So conceived, the self-system is equivalent to the total person, including and expressing the total human personality. In this sense, the self includes but is not equivalent to the subjective self; it is synonymous with the self-as-agent. The self-system in this sense is not synonymous with the self-representation since representational entities cannot serve as sources of operations or agency. In the psychoanalytic process, the self-as-agent is the responsible actor in the engagement in the therapeutic alliance and in the function of self-analysis. Since the capacity for self-analysis is developed and facilitated through the therapeutic alliance, technical issues related to the establishing, maintaining, and fostering the therapeutic alliance are immediately pertinent to the enhancement of the capacity for self-analysis in both analysand and analyst.