Selfobjects in Psychosis—The Twinship Compensation

Concepts from psychoanalytic self psychology may he valuable in explaining confusing clinical experiences in psychotherapy with psychotic patients. In this article, we describe three clinical cases in which the patient believed that one of the therapist’s body parts was actually the patient’s. This body part “mixing up” has traditionally been understood in terms of part objects or transitional objects. We propose that the twinship selfobject experience provides a better understanding and guide to clinical intervention in these circumstances.