Future directions in examining the self in psychological disorders

As has been demonstrated throughout this book, the concept of the “self ” opens up many opportunities for advancing our understanding of human psychological functioning and dysfunction. It is also apparent that the use of this concept gives us multiple options to facilitate developments in the treatment of disorder and, perhaps, could improve the efficacy and effectiveness of therapy for a broad range of psychological conditions. Despite such potential advantages, numerous issues have been identified, inclusive of the disparities in the definition and operationalization of the term “self ” itself, and also in discrepant foci on aspects of the self (Katzko, 2003). Starting with issues relating to the definition and operationalization of the “self,” researchers have recently provided a simple characterization: … the term self often refers to a warm sense or a warm feeling that something is “about me” or “about us.” Reflecting on oneself…requires that there is an “I” that can consider an object that is “me.” The term self includes both the actor who thinks (“I am thinking”) and the object of thinking (“about me”). (Oyserman, Elmore, & Smith, 2012 , p. 71)