The Mythology Surrounding Freud and Klein: Implications for Psychoanalysis

ISBN-13: 9781498568487 / Angielski / Twarda / 2017 / 158 str.

Charlotte Schwartz

Opis

The author's primary concern is to challenge the current perception that Freud's metapsychology was a drive centered theory with little regard for the object and object relations. The thinking regarding Klein, who had been heralded by Guntip and others, as the 'originator' of object relations theory will be proven a false perception. It will be shown that Klein was essentially a drive theorist who adhered to Freud's instinct theories. Despite her frequent references to the object, external reality played a minimal role in her theoretical constructs and interpretations. The object for Klein was essentially a phylogenetic object that bore little relationship to the real object. Freud the 'drive' theorist, to the contrary, had much concern for the nature and interaction of object relationships in the lives of his patients. His capacity to interweave drive and object is evidenced in all of his case studies. By examining the role of the object in Freud's writings, and the coalescence of drive and drive derivatives in psyche development, a very different perception of his energic and object concepts will emerge. A systematic review of both their theoretical work and clinical studies will reveal that the series of myths that have taken hold in the analytic culture are fallacious and unfortunately, have become so stratified that they are assumed to be truisms. The author will also review important theorists, Ferenczi, Abraham, Jones, Fairbairn, Guntrip, and Winnicott who have influenced drive and object relations theory. A major premise of this work is to emphasize the harm to psychoanalytic training and treatment methodology that has occurred by dogmatic positions and power struggles. Therefore, a critique of current myths and theoretical ideas must command some re-evaluation.