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In psychodynamics, Object relations theory is the idea that the ego-self exists only in relation to other objects, which may be external or internal. The internal objects are internalized versions of external objects, primarily formed from early interactions with the parents. There are three fundamental "affects" that can exist between the self and the other - attachment, frustration, and rejection. These affects are universal emotional states that are major building blocks of the personality. Object relations theory was pioneered in the 1940's and 50's by British psychologists Ronald Fairbairn, D.W. Winnicott, Harry Guntrip, and others. William Ronald Dodds Fairbairn (1889-1964) was a noted Scottish psychoanalyst and is generally regarded as the father of British object relations theory. ...
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Harry Guntrip (1901-1975) was a psychologist known for his major contributions to object relations theory. ...
History Freud developed the concept object relation to describe or emphasize that bodily drives satisfy their need through a medium, an object, on a specific locus. The central thesis in Melanie Klein's object relations theory was that objects play a decisive role in the development of a subject and can be either part-objects or whole-objects, i.e. a single organ (a mother's breast) or a whole person (a mother). Consequently both a mother or just the mother's breast can be the locus of satisfaction for a drive. Furthermore, according to traditional psychoanalysis, there are at least two types of drives, the libido (mythical counterpart: Eros), and the death drive (mythical counterpart: Thanatos). Thus, the objects can be receivers of both love and hate, the affective effects of the libido and the death drive. Another use of part-object vs. whole-object relates to the inability of young children to conceive of an object which can be both 'good' and 'bad' (e.g., a loving yet sometimes-frustrating mother). Because of this inability, children view objects as either all-good or all-bad, thus only seeing a part of that object instead of the object's whole good/bad reality. Children are too young to understand that objects can be both good and bad they only see one part of the spectrum. Sigmund Freud His famous couch Sigmund Freud (May 6, 1856 - September 23, 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of the psychoanalytic school of psychology, a movement that popularized the theory that unconscious motives control much behavior. ...
Look up Drive in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
Melanie Klein Melanie Klein, (1882 - 1960), Austrian psychotherapist, built on the work of Sigmund Freud, particularly in the area of child psychology. ...
Look up Drive in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
Libido in its common usage means sexual desire; however, more technical definitions, such as those found in the work of Carl Jung, are more general, referring to libido as the free creative--or psychic--energy an individual has to put toward personal development, or individuation. ...
Eros, a god in Greek mythology Eros can also refer to: The Greek word Eros, which means sexual love 433 Eros, an asteroid EROS, the Extremely Reliable Operating System Pjur Eros, a premium latex-safe personal lubricant Eros, the life instinct postulated by Freudian psychology, standing in opposition to Thanatos...
For other uses, see Death (disambiguation). ...
In Greek mythology, Thanatos (θάνατος, death) was the personification of death (Roman equivalent: Mors), and a minor figure in Greek mythology. ...
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Love Look up love in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
Look up hate in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
Libido in its common usage means sexual desire; however, more technical definitions, such as those found in the work of Carl Jung, are more general, referring to libido as the free creative--or psychic--energy an individual has to put toward personal development, or individuation. ...
Until the 1970s, however, few American psychoanalysts were influenced by the school of Melanie Klein, on the one hand, who constituted an opposite polarity to the school of Anna Freud (which dominated American psychoanalysis in 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s and was represented in the US by Hartmann, Kris, Loewenstein, Rapaport, Erikson, Jacobson, and Mahler), and, on the other hand, the "middle group" who fell between Anna Freud and Melanie Klein, and was influenced by the British schools of Michael Balint, Donald Winnicott, and Ronald Fairbairn. The strong animosity in England between the school of Anna Freud and that of Melanie Klein was transplanted to the US, where the Anna Freud group dominated totally until the 1970s, when new interpersonal psychoanalysis arose partly from ideas of culturalist psychoanalysis, influenced also by Ego psychology, and partly by British theories which have also entered under the broad terminology of "British object relations theories". Melanie Klein Melanie Klein, (1882 - 1960), Austrian psychotherapist, built on the work of Sigmund Freud, particularly in the area of child psychology. ...
Anna Freud (December 3, 1895 - October 9, 1982) was the sixth and last child of Sigmund and Martha Freud. ...
The 1940s decade ran from 1940 to 1949. ...
The 1950s was the decade spanning from the 1st of January, 1950 to the 31st December, 1959. ...
The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ...
Michael Balint - Bálint Mihály (December 3, 1896, Budapest- December 31, 1970, Bristol) was a psychoanalyst and proponent of the Object Relations school. ...
Donald Woods Winnicott (7 April 1896 - January 28, 1971) was a pediatrician and psychoanalyst. ...
William Ronald Dodds Fairbairn (1889-1964) was a noted Scottish psychoanalyst and is generally regarded as the father of British object relations theory. ...
The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ...
Ego psychology is a school of psychoanalysis that originated in Freuds ego-id-superego model. ...
Recent decades in developmental psychological research, for example on the onset of a "theory of mind" in children, has suggested that the formation of mental world is enabled by the infant-parent interpersonal interaction which was the main thesis of British object-relations tradition (e.g. Fairbairn, 1952). On the other hand not all children are molded by their parents. Some children turn out completely different than how their parents raised them. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...
Fairbairn also discovered the psychological condition of dysfunctional interpersonal attachment of abused children to their abusing parents. This area is rooted in Attachment theory, which was developed by Sir John Bowlby and which remains the primary theory of infant mental health. Studies have shown that children who are raised by abusive parents are at risk to abuse their children in some way when they grow up. Children who grow up in abusive families tend to have poor quality attachments to their parents. William Ronald Dodds Fairbairn (1889-1964) was a noted Scottish psychoanalyst and is generally regarded as the father of British object relations theory. ...
Attachment theory is a psychological theory, or group of theories, about the evolved adaptive tendency to maintain proximity to an attachment figure. ...
John Bowlby (1907-1990) was a British developmental psychologist of the psychoanalytic tradition. ...
Object Relations Psychotherapy Like the theory, Object Relations Psychotherapy is rooted in psychoanalytical principles. In addition there is not one type, but rather object relations theory is a guiding principle in various forms of object relations therapy.
Perhaps the most important difference between psychotherapy based on principles of object relations theory (frequently referred to as a form of "psychodynamic therapy") and psychoanalysis is that the therapist does not assume as passive a role as in traditional psychoanalysis, since the interpretation of the transference relationship, while important, is not such a central component. Instead, the therapist's role is to pay attention to ways in which the patient projects previous object relationships into the interactions with the therapist. Most therapies incorporating object relations theory then conceptualize the therapy as helping the patient resolve the pathological qualities of the transference relationship through the active experience of the real relationship between the therapist and the patient.
This re-experiencing of such vital object relational issues as intimacy, control, loss, transparency, dependency/autonomy, and trust represents the primary curative influence. While some interpretation and confrontation may be involved, the "working through" of the original pathological components of the patient's emotional world and the objects in it is the primary therapeutic goal.
Two analysts, James Masterson and Otto Kernberg, are considered the pioneers of Object Relations Therapy as a formal approach separate from psychoanalysis. While the more technical aspects of their theories of personality development and psychotherapy differ significantly, they share the core tenets of providing a safe, caring environment in the relationship while resisting the patient's unconscious attempt to draw the therapist into the same patterns of relationship as the ones that constitute the patient's distorted dynamic interactions with significant others. One frequently enacted process that serves as an example of this is the way in which the therapist encourages independence and development of a more autonomous sense of self (ego) but, at the same time, nurtures the establishment of intimacy and trust (interdependence rather than dependence or avoidance in relationships). This can be a very difficult task in that the therapist must provide acceptance and validation but, simultaneously, set and maintain limits in the relationship as well as limits to the client's behavior in his/her role as a "healthy" object.
Sources Fairbairn, W. R. D., (1952). An Object-Relations Theory of the Personality. New York: Basic Books.
Fairbairn, W. R. D., (1952). Endopsychic structure considered in terms of object relationships, London.
See also Psychoanalysis is a family of psychological theories and methods based on the pioneering work of Sigmund Freud. ...
Attachment theory is a psychological theory, or group of theories, about the evolved adaptive tendency to maintain proximity to an attachment figure. ...
John Bowlby (1907-1990) was a British developmental psychologist of the psychoanalytic tradition. ...
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