Klein

Melanie Klein was an influential 20th century psychoanalyst who worked mainly with children and analysed them using play therapy. She developed her own theory within the object relation theory, which belongs to the psychodynamic theory. 

 

 

 

Later, she led the Kleinian side of the British Psychoanalytical Society apart from the Anna Freudian and the Independent side. She had major losses at a young age, she lost her sister, brother, father then her mother and she probably had postnatal depression too after rushing into a marriage and having three children. She entered analysis first with Ferenczi in Budapest, Hungary in 1914, then with Abraham in Berlin in 1924. He died shortly after that. Finally, she relocated to London in 1927 after her divorce. Apart from all the personal trauma and losses, it was an extremely stormy period of European history and being a Jewish woman it must have been hard for her to get by, settle down, find her place and fit in. Maybe she never did. Sadly, she was also estranged from her daughter, probably as a result of analysing her as a child. She could have found solace in the world of academia but her professional life was also troubled by the split between the different object relationists.

Her theory was not only an evolution of Freudian theory but also a departure from it. She agreed with the personality structure of the Id, Ego and Superego but she focused on the mother-infant bond. Her contribution was the concept of primitive phantasies in early infancy. Infants experience these in relation to the mother. These can be frightening images and sensations long before the infant can use language. She used symbolic language to illustrate complex ideas. The mental activity she describes happens at an unconscious level. Object refers to a significant person in the subject’s life. Object parts include anatomical divisions of others, such as the face, the breast etc.

Klein thought that the infant is caught up struggling between the forces of life and death. In other words, they try to deal with the feelings of goodness and badness after internalising the good breast and the bad breast. She agreed with the oral, anal and genital stages but she thought the transition between the stages is less finite.

In addition, she described the paranoid-schizoid and the depressive positions. The former one occurs during the first 4 months of the infant’s life. After the security of the womb the baby feels distressed, and the first object she encounters is the breast. Aggression is directed towards the breast but it’s also a source of comfort. Positive and negative feelings are experienced in relation to the breast. The breast is identified as a separate object from the mother. To make it more manageable, splitting occurs, good and bad experiences are kept apart.

Later, the resolution of these impulses affects how the child feels about herself and others. Frustration can be balanced by the mother’s affection though. As a result of trauma or neglect negative experiences can also be introjected, which may cause relationship problems in later life. The mother-infant relationship is seen as a template for subsequent relationships.

The depressive position occurs between the age of four months and 1 year. The infant starts to perceive the mother as a separate object, the good and bad parts are embodied in her together. This integration is important but also creates guilt and anxiety because previously aggressive feelings were experienced in relation to her. This imagined damage needs reparation. The resolution of this crisis is also important. Fixation at this position can cause depression in later life.

Problems related to both positions include low self-esteem, difficulties in forming relationships or inability to make commitments or trust others.

Klein’s important theoretical contribution was the realisation that all experience arises from the interplay between internal and external reality. We project onto others and also introject the external reality into the inner world of ourselves. The interplay or recycling between the two is constant. Our perception is subjective. Psychologically healthy people can see beyond what they project.

This type of object relation therapy may be beneficial for clients who experience relationship problems, feel stuck or are unable to make sense of their lives. Also, it may help clients who suffer from illness or had some loss. It can be used in family or couple therapy, too. During therapy clients can understand their problems at a deeper level. Underlying causes that stem from the past might be identified. However, it requires commitment from the client and the capacity for self-reflection and awareness. As a result, clients will become more aware of their emotional world and their capacity to relate to others will improve.

Bibliography:

M. Hough, Counselling Skills and Theory, 4^th edition, Hodder Education, 2014

L. Gomez, An Introduction to object relations, 1997

https://www.goodtherapy.org/famous-psychologists/melanie-klein.html