I think one/two of the problems you're encountering, not surprisingly, given the mix of disciplines here, as you previously mentioned, are the problems with terminology -- different people calling things by similar names, depending on where they're "coming from", and the lack of people who are conjointly clinically and academically trained.
For the former, "mindfulness" is often equated with self-awareness -- and you'll find a mountain of literature there. For the second, have a look at the recent article by Orla Moran, of Ireland:
An investigation into the relationship between the three selves (Self-as-Content, Self-as-Process and Self-as-Context) and mental health in adolescents
sure, it "looks" like it's about adolescents, but the subject matter is one of the most practically-oriented, and one of the most current, approaches to the "self" and self-awareness you'll come across.
Of course, other related concepts, such as ego strength, and ego self-complexity -- you can't put all your eggs in the one basket when considering your self -- are also related -- and lots of people take until they're in their 50's to start identifying / dealing with their history of being victimised as children -- look at the demographics of those calling into such help lines as the Blue Knot in Australia