Object Relations Theory: Key Ideas, Research Papers, Books, British School of Psychoanalysis and Principle of Therapy

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Object relations theory has been actively developed in the last few decades. Many well-known figures in the field of theoretical psychiatry have made efforts to progress science in this area. Some believe that the concept of this kind of relationship has been laid down for a very long time, but in fact its first postulates were expressed by Anna Freud, who considered the means of instinctive satisfaction. To date, this topic has been studied from different angles, and in recent years fundamentally new approaches have been formed. Let's take a closer look at them.

How it all began

In Anna Freud, who laid the foundations of the theory of object relations, attention was focused on the manifestation of attraction of a person. This well-known psychoanalyst did not actually separate relationships and attractions from each other. Particular emphasis in her work is placed onOedipus complex. Freud admitted that the nature of the relationships that preceded the formation of this complex was not clear enough for her.

Today, object relations theory has found many new adherents in this area. Along with the positive aspects of promotion, the progress of ideas, the scientific community has faced certain difficulties. A kind of chaos reigned, as different figures resort to different terms and put different meanings into similar words. In order to somewhat stabilize and systematize what is happening, it was decided to single out key authors and indicate which works are most important for this theory. By studying their writings, one can understand how relationships develop.

How are things today?

Today, object relations theory has three key branches. Accordingly, there are three basic definitions of this kind of relationship. All theories consider the influence of external, internal object representatives on the formation of a person's self. Freud implicitly noted in her writings that the mental apparatus of a person is structured through fantasies, conflicts in which objects appear: oral, oedipal, anal. Relationship theory is concerned with the internalization of information acquired in relationships, available from a young age. Experience affects the person, structuring it. Each of the stages of personality formation is accompanied by certain typical conflicts, their stages. The theory considers not only them, but the re-actualizationrelations, due to the transfer and the opposite process occurring during the relationship of objects.

Object Relations Theory Melanie Klein proposes to interpret the phenomenon as focusing on the influence of internalized relationships to form personality structure. The followers of this idea are called Kleinians. The theory they adhere to is due to the modern idea of \u200b\u200bthe "I". Such people adhere to the ideas of developmental psychology. This is an independent group of specialists in the field of psychoanalysis. Representatives of this class of psychoanalysts require an adequate assessment of the significance of a person's unconscious fantasizing. The model they are promoting is focused on improving, structuring the internal object. The psychology of "I" occupies psychotherapists, but mainly in aspects of personality attraction.

Development of thought

Melanie Klein's object relations theory was promoted by Kernberg, who interpreted the main provisions of the approach taking into account the opinion of a psychologist dealing with the "I". In many ways, his works are based on the works of Jacobson, which were published in the 64th, 71st, as well as Mahler, who published his work in the 75th. Kernberg tried to combine the basic calculations of all these approaches. As this scientist considered, the libidinal stages of progress, aggressive steps are determined by the internalized relations of objects. Timely, as fast as possible impulse neutralization creates the foundation for an adequate combination of objects, representatives of the personality.

Kernberg's object relations theory is driven by Freud's sayings –they were used by the author as fundamental. The scientist adhered to the postulates of the dual idea of attraction, analyzed the high-level system of motivation, regarding affects as organizing elements. At some points, he entered into a confrontation with the founder of the theory, since he considered affects to be the key elements of the psyche, while Freud had drives. Affects Kernberg called the components of the structure, acting as the basis for a complex attraction and the formation of a highly organized system of motivation. In Kernberg, the conflict within the psyche is formed both by ways of preventing attraction and by differences in representatives. One unit, formed by the representatives of the self, the object, is a defense against attraction, the second is the actual desire, from which a barrier is needed.

Idea development

Kernberg considers the development of object relations from the point of view of intrapsychic conflict. It appears to the psychoanalyst as different from the typical conflict pattern formed by the impulse and the defense against it. Instead, the conflict that serves as the basis of the relations under consideration reveals the internalized relationships of objects, due to the attraction of the person. They conflict with units. The opposite of the one described, for example, will consist of representatives that provide protection for the object, the self. The appearance of the mental sphere is interpreted by scientists as the progress of the intrapsychic vision of the representatives. This is due to the dyad nature of the relationship between mother and child. Gradually, this is revealed through other dyads, progressing to the inclusion of a third unit, then transforming into a triangular structure.

About Klein's theory

The theory of object relations presented by M. Klein glorified this specialist in the field of psychoanalysis. Klein is one of the founders of the considered direction of psychology. She created theoretical bases, focusing on her own offspring. The emphasis in her fundamental calculations is on preoedipal relationships, due to a thorough analysis of this stage of development. Among the basic ideas is a conflict, which is explained by the initial struggle between vital and death instincts. Such a conflict, as Klein considered, should be attributed to innate. At the same time, the psychoanalyst proposed to regard the moment of birth as a very complex psychological childhood trauma that causes a person's anxiety. In many ways, it is she who determines the further relationship of the person and the surrounding world.

As can be seen from publications devoted to Melanie Klein's (briefly) presentation of object relations theory, person conflicts are already set at the child's first contact with the world. This happens through the breast of the mother who gave birth to the baby. The newborn is accompanied by anxiety, due to which the chest seems to be something hostile. Klein proposed to consider impulses conditioned by instinct as having some correspondence in the fantasy that serves this or that impulse. Every fantasy in her interpretation is a mental impulse representation.

Step bystep by step

As can be learned from Klein's theory, object relations begin with the stage that the baby goes through in the first three months after birth. The psychoanalyst labeled this stage as paranoid-schizoid. The first term chosen is explained by the fact that the newborn has a persistent phobia of persecution by an external negative object, that is, the mother's breast. This object is introjected, so the child tries in every possible way to destroy it. Such a bad object is explained by the attraction to death. The second term in the description of the stage is due to the tendency to split oneself into positive and negative. The child's fantasy is accompanied by a bad breast, which is a threat, and the bad part of the child is aimed at protecting against this object. The newborn directs the negative aspect of his personality to the mother in order to harm her and become the owner of the breast.

As well as the death drive, the life drive is also associated with the mother's breast. In Klein's object relations theory, this is called libido. The breast is the first object of the external world with which the child interacts, it is good, and the attitude towards it is formed through introjection. A person simultaneously strives for life, death, these two instincts conflict with each other, which is expressed in the struggle of the breast that gives nourishment and devouring. So the center of the Super-Ego is formed by two aspects at once: positive, negative at the same time.

Growing Up: Stage One

Three months of life is the period when the child is afraid of aggressive invasion, he is afraid that his own "I" will be destroyed from the outside, idealchest will collapse. Ideal is understood as a good source of love. The ego tries to be in accordance with these postulates, but at the same time seeks to destroy the good breast.

As can be seen from Klein's (briefly) description of object relations theory, if the formation of personality at this primary step is correct, the death instinct is weakened. Positive breast identification takes place. A young child rarely uses splitting. The paranoid aspects of the personality gradually weaken. There is progress towards ego integration.

Second stage

One of the main ideas of object relations theory is the development of personality to the oral-sadistic stage. On average, this period lasts about one and a half years. Objects have positive, negative manifestations, which the child gradually learns to perceive in a complex way. The mother becomes a source of positive experience and negative impressions for the young child. By the age of three months, the depressive stage ends, and anxiety is formed by the fear of destroying the object of love. The child is afraid of hurting what he loves. He seeks to orally introject a woman, to internalize, thereby providing her with protection from the destructive manifestations of her own personality. Omnipotence simultaneously acts as the foundation of a phobia, since positive objects from the outside, inside, can be absorbed. Accordingly, attempts to preserve the object of love at the same time for the child himself look like something destructive. A feature of this stage of development is the dominance of hopelessness, fear, and depression. On average toAt the age of nine months, the child, haunted by fears, moves away from the mother, concentrating the world around the father's penis - this object becomes a new oral desire.

As can be seen from the calculations, long maintained by another specialist in object relations theory (Winnicott), Klein's theory has many positive aspects, but some of its provisions literally do not hold water. And that was more than enough. Psychotherapists and psychoanalysts, who disagreed with the ideas of the researcher, believed that she studied objects too little, paying unreasonably much attention to drives. Accordingly, the theory of this author is far from an adequate assessment of the influence of the environment and personal experience. Few, however, argued that the initial stages of personality formation are described correctly. Klein always pointed out the importance of the first stages of human formation, and all her followers and opponents equally agreed with this postulate.

Freud and Klein

As you know, Klein's theories were based on the ideas expressed by Freud, however, this founder herself, who laid the foundations of the theory of object relations, did not support a woman psychoanalyst. She was critical of all of Klein's work. Anna Freud herself formulated theories, focusing on observations of children in orphanages. She took care of newborns and toddlers of the earliest age group. Her objects of observation were children separated from their parents. Anna believed that in the first time of the existence of a newborn, his well-being is determined by the dispatch of physiological needs. Accordingly, the key importance of the mother is to satisfy them. If the newborn is weaned from the parental wing, manifestations of mental disorders immediately form. As the age of six months is reached, the relationship with the woman who has given birth to a child moves to a new step. Just sending needs becomes too narrow a category of interaction, permanent relationships begin to take shape. By this stage, the mother is the object of the libido, and such a childish attitude is not determined by the level of satisfaction of physiological needs.

Freud, who laid the foundations of the theory of object relations, considered the relationship between a child who had crossed the one-year age limit and the woman who gave birth to him as fully developed. She offered to evaluate them as corresponding to the strength of adult love. Feelings and desires due to instincts are concentrated on the mother. However, gradually the relationship becomes less strong, and by the age of three ambivalent feelings appear. The next stage is the development of rivalry.

Concept: personal development

In Freud's view, object relations move to the next stage of development when the child reaches the age of three. This step lasts on average until the child reaches the age of five. One of the main shaping factors is the disappointment caused by the oedipal stage. The child is going through hard loss of parental love - this is how the attempt of adults to socialize the child and bring it into line with the norms of a civilized community is perceived. Such influenceturns the child into an irritable, it is capricious and aggressive. From time to time, the child violently wishes for the death of those who brought him into the world, this is followed by a stage of realization of his guilt, which gives rise to deep suffering.

Freud, whose work largely determined the development of the idea of object relations, proposed dividing the personality into Id, Ego, Super-Ego. The id is formed by the libido, the mortido. The first needs develop in the oral, anal, sadistic, phallic, latent, pre-pubertal and immediately pubertal pores. Aggression corresponding to each of the steps: biting, spitting, clinging, violent attitude, desire for power, boasting, dissocial behavior. The formation of the ego was presented as a sequence of defense measures: repression, reaction, projection, transference, sublimation. The progress of Freud's Super-Ego is expressed by identifying oneself with parents, internalizing their authority.

Causes and consequences

In the framework of the theory of object relations developed by Klein, Freud, Winnicott, every stage of the progress of the personality of a new person is determined by the result of the conflict of drives, caused by instinct, and external restrictions, determined by society, environment. Freud suggested taking into account phases and forming lines of progress. Feeding should begin in infancy and continue for as long as it is reasonable, that is, until the child is able to develop a reasonable habit of eating. The neatness line should begin with an educational program and last until the child learns to control excretory functions in an automatic, unconscious format.organism. No less important is the line of formation of physical independence and respect for older generations. It was proposed to pay specific attention to the line of sexuality, which begins from infantile dependence and progresses to adult normal intimate life of a person.

Although it is generally said that the author of the theory of object relations is Klein, the works of Freud devoted to this issue are no less significant. This psychoanalyst was obliged to pay special attention to consciousness, the ego, which somewhat contradicted the calculations of her father, who considered the unconscious to be the center of the personality. Anna assessed the development of socialization, which takes place step by step, gradually. This process can be described as a transition from pleasure to reality. As Anna believed, a person who has barely been born is guided only by the law of pleasure, subordinating to him all manifestations of his behavior. At the same time, the baby depends on who cares for him, since there are no other ways to satisfy the needs. The search for pleasure at this stage is an internal principle, and satisfaction is completely determined by external conditions.

Actions and feelings

To a large extent, couples therapy in the theory of object relations is based on the concept of human infant development as a stage when specific personality traits are laid down that control her behavior in the future. As described above, the internal principles of the desire for pleasure depend on external service persons. The mother can fulfill the desire of the child, but in the powerreject it. Starting from the performance of this role, she acts both as an object of love and as the one who establishes the first law of the baby. As Freud's numerous observations have confirmed, maternal love and rejection is what determines development in many ways. Aspects that cause a positive response in the mother develop faster, which is expressed in her support. Everything proceeds much more slowly if the mother is indifferent, hiding a positive reaction.

Modern psychoanalysis requires special attention to empathy. At the same time, according to a number of psychoanalysts, the relationship between generations and the structuralization of a child's personality is not clearly considered in science. The works created within the framework of the theory of object relations by Alden are devoted to this issue. Briefly, they can be described as works devoted to the problems of empathy in the family. What appears to be empathy, this researcher notes, is often in fact only a compensatory maternal experience due to personal taboos. Based on these experiences, the woman simply condones the desires expressed by the child. In 1953, Alden published a paper in which he pointed out the following fact: the apparent maternal empathy is often due to the narcissism of her personal desires. This is a more powerful aspect than the perceived needs of the child. A woman whose behavior is based on such a phenomenon behaves inconsistently, makes unpredictable demands, and chooses punishments that are inadequate and inappropriate situations, simply put, inappropriate.

Years and understanding

As shownresearch by psychoanalysts, already at an early age, the child learns to correctly determine how the mother relates to this or that object, phenomenon, act. Accordingly, from the first days of life, one can talk about obedient children, who are easy to manage, and self-willed, violently protesting against the restrictions imposed by their elders.

As you grow older, physical needs become secondary, their place is taken by new aspirations. The world around us still limits the achievement of the desired. Even the most liberal older generation is obliged from time to time to limit children's aspirations, since the child wants all his desire to be satisfied this very second. The intra- and extra worlds do not correspond to each other, the child must take into account reality, feeling his own desires, but the age is still quite small, which leads to confusion of the personality. Freud believed that young children are too confused about the problems around them, as a result, they show themselves stubborn and refuse to behave obediently.

In many ways, the success of adequate mental development is determined by the ability of the person's Ego to cope with hardships and limitations. This is determined by how the child deals with displeasure. Any restriction, any situation that forces you to wait, is potentially an unbearable state of affairs. The child becomes angry, enraged, shows impatience. If the elders try to replace what they want with another, he rejects the replacement, considering it not suitable enough. There are, however, those whorestrictions do not give rise to such resentment. Both variants of behavioral attitudes are formed at an early age and persist for a long time.