The moral implications of the self-selfobject system for patient and therapist

Since its inception, psychoanalytic thought has recognized the importance of moral development in both pathology and health. The present work offers a self psychological account of moral development, embedding it in the self-selfobject system. Such an account is independent of Freud’s thinking about the Oedipus. Understanding moral/ethical development as a feature of the selfobject bond and selfobject transferences offers an opportunity to work with moral development and moral defenses clinically. This sensibility also expands our understanding of and facility with narcissistic rage. Ample clinical material is offered to illustrate and substantiate the paper’s claims.