On the devalued self and implications for treatment

A survey of the self theories of several illustrious clinicians suggests that—despite its increasing interest for contemporary dynamic psychotherapists —a holistic self psychology has little practical utility. Rather, it is a variant of structural theory, involving a component of a nontraditional structure of the self, that appears to be of the most practical use. Therapy in this mode combines both steadfast positive regard and planful functioning of the therapist as a beneficial model or ideal image.