You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
Theories evolving from different hypotheses provide plausible convincing but contradictory explanations for the same clinical data. This phenomena is both blessing and curse: blessing because it demonstrates the vitality and complexity of the human condition and our creative imaginations in conceptualizing it; curse because of the confusion and uncertainty we must live with as we listen and learn. We have just had the opportunity to consider five expositions of Pearson's case report of Mrs. X and her treatment by leaders in our field. You have so far contended with 6 different renderings of Mrs. X's motives and her means of carrying them out. First those Pearson subtly imbedded in her report, then those of Drs. Arlow, Wolf, Schulz, Searles, and Jackson; add to this your own (as you pick and choose as you read), mine (which you are about to read), and ultimately Mrs. X's, which we can only know imperfectly, and we reach a grand total of nine. Fortunately our five discussants have been quite clear in their formulations, so I shall begin with them.
Wolf states the overall guiding principle of self psychology is that the self, the part of personality structure that lends to an individual a sense of being a person, is evoked by experiences