diff --git a/lib/class_builder.js b/lib/class_builder.js
index 8548ae3..2ca33d0 100644
--- a/lib/class_builder.js
+++ b/lib/class_builder.js
@@ -516,9 +516,14 @@ function attachPropInit( prototype, properties, members, cid )
 
         // if we're inheriting, perform a setup that doesn't include everything
         // that we don't want (e.g. private properties)
-        this.___$$vis$$[ cid ] = propobj.setup(
+        var vis = this.___$$vis$$[ cid ] = propobj.setup(
             inst_props, properties, members
         );
+
+        // provide a means to access the actual instance (rather than the
+        // property/visibility object) internally (this will translate to
+        // this.__self from within a method)
+        util.defineSecureProp( vis, '__self', this );
     });
 }
 
diff --git a/test/test-class_builder-visibility.js b/test/test-class_builder-visibility.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ce83751
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/test-class_builder-visibility.js
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+/**
+ * Tests class builder visibility implementation
+ *
+ * See also: test-class-visibility.js
+ *
+ *  Copyright (C) 2010 Mike Gerwitz
+ *
+ *  This file is part of ease.js.
+ *
+ *  ease.js is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the
+ *  terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by the Free
+ *  Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option)
+ *  any later version.
+ *
+ *  This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
+ *  ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
+ *  FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU Lesser General Public License
+ *  for more details.
+ *
+ *  You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License
+ *  along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ *
+ * @author  Mike Gerwitz
+ * @package test
+ */
+
+var common  = require( './common' ),
+    assert  = require( 'assert' ),
+    util    = common.require( 'util' ),
+    builder = common.require( 'class_builder' )
+;
+
+
+/**
+ * As discussed in GH#15, there's a bit of an issue when passing around 'this'
+ * from within a method. For example, passing 'this' as an argument or invoking
+ * a method with it as the context will effectively defeat encapsulation.
+ * Unfortunately, there's really no way around that. Maybe a more elegant
+ * solution will arise in the future. For now, not likely.
+ *
+ * We need to provide a means to reference the actual instance. __self is that
+ * solution.
+ */
+( function testSelfPropertyReferencesInstanceRatherThanPropObj()
+{
+    var result = null
+        ref    = null,
+
+        foo = builder.build( {
+            'public __construct': function()
+            {
+                // rather than returning, assign to external var so that we can
+                // rest assured that the return value wasn't manipulated
+                result = this.__self;
+                ref    = this;
+            }
+        } )();
+
+    assert.deepEqual( result, foo,
+        "this.__self returns reference to actual instance"
+    );
+
+    // the property should be read-only
+    if ( util.definePropertyFallback() === false )
+    {
+        assert.equal(
+            Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptor( ref, '__self' ).writable,
+            false,
+            "this.__self is not writable"
+        );
+    }
+} )();
+