• Born in 1882 (26 years after Freud) • First discovered Freud in 1910, when she read his book On Dreams. Became a fan.
• Became increasingly interested in psychology and
the psychoanalytical theory. Joined the Budapest Society. How did Klein’s own experiences affect her work?
• Two of Klein’s siblings died at relatively young
ages.
• Klein’s mother died when she was 18.
Melanie Klein’s Ideas -Strong focus on childhood
-Contributed to the object
relations theory
-Environment
-Theories based on a lot of
observation Klein’s theory concerning the psyche revolves around two main states, or positions of the mind. Paranoid Schizoid Position • The child categorizes everything around it into two categories: the good and the bad.
• The child cannot deal with things that concern it,
as its ego is not yet fully developed.
• These things that concern it may be perceived
threats from the exterior, or troubling feelings in its own mind.
• The child categorizes everything around it into
two categories: the good and the bad. What satisfies it is good, and what doesn’t is bad. The baby acts accordingly. Depressive position • “One would realize that the mother that one hated was also the mother that one loved” (Woolf)
• The child gains the ability to see that the one that it hates is also the one that provides care. This is a major milestone in the development of the child’s psyche, and indicated a developing ego.
• The child no longer separates everything into the
“good” and “bad” categories. This enables the formation of a more realistic view of the world. Other interesting ideas Toys
• Klein developed the
concept of play therapy during World War I.
• She believed that
children would express their innermost feelings through their actions with toys. Envy • Part of the infant’s primal thought process.
• The infant feels that the
mother’s breast is the ultimate source of nutrition, pleasure and is full of power.
• When the infant cannot
immediately obtain the breast, it feels that the breast is keeping it’s resources for itself. This is envy. Bibliography
Somatoform and Other Psychosomatic Disorders: A Dialogue Between Contemporary Psychodynamic Psychotherapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Perspectives