The Operating Manual for the Self®
The New Self-Psychology
A new self-psychology is emerging from The Operating Manual for the Self. It has many things to contribute to psychology, psychotherapy, personal growth, the way we think about ourselves, and the way we think about human beings. The new self-psychology and The Operating Manual for the Self provide ideas and strategies to live in the 21st century, The Age of Empowerment. In The Age of Empowerment, we can be whoever we want to be. As we become the person we want to be, we can do and have anything we can imagine and create for ourselves through the actions we take.
The diversity and comprehensiveness of the new self-psychology gives a mental health professional the ability to respond to a client’s needs with greater precision and effectiveness. It also sheds new light on the process of therapeutic change and the resistance to change. The precise language about the self in the manual allows us to educate clients with powerful concepts and ideas empowering a person to take complete charge of their life.
Other aspects of the new self-psychology (as outlined in The Operating Manual for the Self) are:
- A definition of the fundamentals of being human
- A straightforward yet profound map for personal growth
- An exploration of ability, will, power, empowerment, and choice
- An exploration of many aspects of the Self to provide a comprehensive overview and perspective
- A precise definition of Self-esteem and an explanation of its importance
- A precise definition of Self-worth
- An explanation of the difference between Self-esteem and Self-worth
- An explanation of the relationship between Self-esteem and the conscience
- An expanded description of human needs
- An exploration of the life cycle and the tasks of each stage of the life cycle
- An exploration of the Self as a system of interacting parts
- The delineation of the major components of the Self
- An exploration of the developmental self
- A description of the nature, role, function, use and misuse of the Ego
- A description of the practical use of personality traits and qualities, and an explanation of temperament
- An exploration of the limits of our current conscience and proposals for a new conscience
- A clear and extensive exploration of identity and image, which creates an understanding of how identity and image influence a person’s future
- A description of how the resolution of psycho-dynamic issues is part of our growth
- An explanation of how disturbances of the Self are caused and how disturbances effect a person
- An explanation of how many components of the Self combine into the processes of life