Psychotherapy deals with the uniqueness of the patient. In psychotherapy, it is important to pay attention to differences rather than sameness and to articulate this verbally. Words not only convey information regarding the inside of the patient's mind but also his/her relational patterns. In recent years, it has become increasingly important that the therapist focuses on relational patterns. The first step in dealing with relational patterns is to identify the patient's self-images and object-images, as well as the affects between these images. The next step is to understand the images behind the identified self-images and object-images, and to convey this understanding to the patient. Kernberg's object relations theory based on ego psychology serves as a very useful frame of reference. Kernberg argues that the inner world consists of object relations units consisting of self-representations, object-representations and the affects between these representations. In patients with severe pathology, one observes rapid reversals and oscillations of object relations units, and it is very important to properly identify and deal with them.
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