Object Relations places relationships at the centre of what it is to be human. Its premise is that the human being is essentially social and that our need for others is primary. Object Relations originated as the British-based development of classic Freudian theory. Its early proponents were Melanie Klein, Ronald Fairbairn, Donald Winnicott, Michael Balint, Harry Guntrip and John Bowlby. In this critical introduction to the subject, Lavinia Gomez presents the work of the main theorists chronologically, enabling the reader to gain a sense of how Object Relations develops and the ways in which the theorists build on, diverge from and oppose each other's ideas. An understanding of concepts emerges gradually as similar phenomena are examined though the eyes of each theorist. A brief biography brings to life the persons behind the theory, contributing to a deeper understanding and critical appreciation of their ideas. The second part of the book addresses the application of Object Relations in the practice of counselling and Psychotherapy, the issue of integrating different approaches; and the challenges of working across social and cultural groups and with borderline and psychotic people. A final chapter examines the foundations of Object Relations. Though written with students of psychotherapy and counselling in mind, this lively and perceptive book will interest anyone wishing to explore this fascinating field. Its strengths lie in its comprehensive coverage, its openness to different theoretical orientations and critical awareness of Object Relations as a culturally specific system of thought.

Developments in Object Relations provides a highly accessible account of how British Object Relations developed in the second half of the twentieth century, focusing on the generation who took up where Klein and Winnicott left off. Complementing and building on its predecessor, An Introduction to Object Relations, it gives an overview of the development of Object Relations with special reference to the Independent and Kleinian traditions. An introductory chapter defines the key features of Object Relations. The emergence of Object Relations is is then described theoretically from some of Freud's papers and clinically from the controversial work of Sandor Ferenczi. Similarities and divergences between Kleinian and Independent approaches are considered in detail through the close examination of the work of a key practitioner from each approach, and other significant contributions. Gomez brings clarity to a complex field, discussing what is powerful and problematic about the two main strands in British psychoanalysis. Kleinian and Independent approaches are consistently compared and contrasted, so that readers can develop a clear idea of each. Rather than preferring one to the other, they are presented as different approaches to what is fundamental in psychoanalysis. Chapters on Bion and Masud Khan bring the work of each tradition to life in a fascinating and informative way. Gomez concludes by summarising the claim of psychoanalysis to offer a new way of understanding human reality, particularly useful for readers interested in her second book, The Freud Wars. Developments in Object Relations will be of great help to psychoanalysts and psychotherapists who work psychoanalytically, particularly those in the process of training, those who have recently qualified and those who are rethinking their position on the different, strongly-held views they encounter. This book is particularly timely when psychoanalytic approaches are under attack from treatments claiming to offer quicker and easier solutions.

"The Freud Wars "offers a comprehensive introduction to the crucial question of the justification of psychoanalysis.
Part I examines three powerful critiques of psychoanalysis in the context of a recent controversy about its nature and legitimacy: is it a bankrupt science, an innovative science, or not a science at all but a system of interpretation? The discussion makes sense of the entrenched disagreement about the validity of psychoanalysis, and demonstrates how the disagreement is rooted in the theoretical ambiguity of the central concept of psychoanalysis, the unconscious. This ambiguity is then presented as the pathway to a new way of understanding psychoanalysis, based on a mode of thinking that precedes division into mental and physical. The reader is drawn into a lively and thought-provoking analysis of the central issues:
- What would it mean for psychoanalysis to count as a science?
- Is psychoanalysis a form of hermeneutics?
- How can mental and physical explanations coincide?
Part II contains the source material for Part I: the influential critiques of psychoanalysis by Adolf Grunbaum, Thomas Nagel and Jurgen Habermas.
No specialised knowledge is assumed, and the book is clear and accessible while still conveying the complexity and richness of the subject. It provides a fascinating introduction to philosophical thinking on psychoanalysis for students and practitioners of psychoanalysis, psychotherapy and philosophy.