Karl Abraham: The Birth of Object Relations Theory

ISBN-13: 9781782200871 / Angielski / Miękka / 2014 / 368 str.

Sanfeliu, Isabel

Opis

Together with Ferenczi, Karl Abraham was perhaps Freud's most creative and devoted disciple. In this book, after outlining the socio-cultural context of his day, Isabel Sanfeliu examines Abraham's life as a student, his family environment and his first steps as a physician and psychoanalyst.

As a clinical doctor Abraham was calm and detached, and a good example of a stable and objective analyst. Despite his strong personality, his loyalty towards Freud never wavered. At the pioneer Psychoanalytic Institute which he founded and directed in Berlin, he established a series of professional standards which are still observed today. The present book is organized around an examination of Abraham's psychoanalytic work according to his different fields of interest before going on to consider his rigorously conducted clinical research.

Abrahams's findings regarding the positive role of aggression in the development of the baby constitutes one of his original theories, as does the establishment of boundaries with the onset of object love. Abraham was undoubtedly influenced by his experience with psychotic and highly dysfunctional patients. Not only did he observe the discharge function of the mother, but also her structuring dimension. It is in this sense that Abraham can be regarded as the pioneer of object relations theory, much before this psychoanalytic concept was given its name.

Spis treści

Foreword to the English Edition -- Foreword -- Abraham, Psychoanalysis, and his Time -- An introduction -- Historical context -- The limits of a life -- Abraham’s time in Zurich: the decisive change (1904–1907) -- Transfer to Berlin (1908–1915) -- The Great War -- The psychoanalytic trenches again -- Abraham’s Role and Uniqueness in Psychoanalytic Theory -- First psychoanalytic papers, his theoretical contribution -- Abraham and the psychoanalytic movement -- Abraham, linguistics, and mythology -- Applied psychoanalysis -- The correspondence -- The Berlin Psychoanalytic Society, the Institute, and the Polyclinic -- Training analyst and supervisor -- Evolution of Abraham’s Thought Regarding the History of Libidinal Development (1907–1925) -- Incorporation into psychoanalysis -- The beginnings of object theory (1907–1916) -- The first pregenital stage of the libido (1916) -- A short study of the development of the libido, viewed in the light of mental disorders (1924) -- Character-formation on the genital level of the libido -- Final papers -- Abraham, the Object, and Psychoanalysis -- The object as a key concept -- Abraham—pioneer of object relations theory -- To conclude -- Chronology -- The Scientific Environment of Karl Abraham -- Appendix

O autorze

Sanfeliu, Isabel