SECURING THE BASE
Heinz Kohut, father of the school of self-psychology, in the last lecture of his life, when considering the most significant factor leading to mental illness, said, "The absence of the mother". Whilst his words could be taken literally, he was talking symbolically about the loss of a nurturing caregiver and the lack of a supportive environment and consistent parental figures. In short, the lack of a secure base. Bowlby’s term