Therapy

The object relations theory of the personality developed from the study of the patient-therapist relationship as it relates to the earlier mother-infant dyad. Object relations theory emphasizes the infant's early experiences with its primary caregiver (typically the mother) as the fundamental determinant of the formation of adult personality. The infant's need for attachment is the primary motivating factor in the development of the self. Two schools of Object Relations theorists split off from Freud: one group often termed the British Independent group disagreed with the Freudian notion that behavior was a function of instincts and placed the ego at the center of personality (founded by British analysts Ronald Fairbairn, Donald Winnicott); the Kleinian group (founded by Melanie Klein) retained Freud's view concerning instincts but disagreed about the role of unconscious fantasy in the regulation of instinctual tension. Both schools concentrate on the first three years of life and the...
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