Dialogical self
Inspired by the original ideas of William James and Mikhail Bakhtin, Hubert Hermans, Harry Kempen and Rens van Loon wrote the first psychological publication on the "dialogical self" in which they conceptualized the self in terms of a dynamic multiplicity of relatively autonomous "I"-positions in the (extended) landscape of the mind. In this conception, the "I" has the possibility to move from one spatial position to another in accordance with changes in situation and time. The "I" fluctuates among different and even opposed positions, and has the capacity to imaginatively endow each position with a voice so that dialogical relations between positions can be established. The voices function like interacting characters in a story, involved in processes of question and answer, agreement and disagreement. Each of them have a story to tell about their own experiences from their own stance. As different voices, these characters exchange information about their respective Me's and mines, resulting in a complex, narratively structured self.
Theme-centered interaction
Theme-centered interaction (TCI) is a concept and a method for working in groups. Its aim is social learning and development of the person. Since the nineteen fifties, TCI has been developed in the United States by the psychoanalyst and psychologist Ruth Cohn, by the therapists Norman Liberman, Isaac Zieman and by other representatives of humanistic psychology. Under the deep impression of the Nazi regime from which Cohn had to flee as a Jew, her overall aim was to assist in creating humane environments which make possible personal growth and living learning as a key to improving society. Later, TCI was developed further in Europe and in India. TCI arose from the theoretical background of psychoanalysis, of group therapy and of humanistic psychology; it takes experiences from Gestalt therapy and from group dynamics into account. Ruth Cohn's original purpose was to "enable a healthy person to remain healthy". Here "health" not only refers to individual well-being, but also to political responsibility in the world.