The general purpose of this paper is to illustrate how social psychological perspectives on the self can enhance a clinical understanding of client problems and psychotherapy. This discussion, which bridges two highly divergent strands of literature, points out the value of complementing clinically derived theory with more rigorously researched social psychological constructs. Specifically, Kohut's self psychology and the treatment of narcissistic personality disorders are described. Two areas of social psychological theory are presented with interesting links to Kohut's work: the Self-Esteem Maintenance Model (Tesser & Campbell, 1983) and strategic self-presentation (Friedlander & Schwartz, 1985; Jones & Pittman, 1982; Tedeschi & Norman, 1985). References are included. (Author)