ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the problems with Fairbairn's structural theory. It examines modifications to those parts of his model that contain assertions that do not match clinical observations and therefore impede the application of his theory to clinical practice. Ronald Fairbairn's ultimate discovery of the splitting defence and the structural theory began with his recognition that the child had to develop defences against bad internalised objects, objects which had to be internalised for the child to survive. The splitting defence itself is the absolute centrepiece of Fairbairn's metapsychology and it is the key to using his model in the clinical setting. Critique of Fairbairn's structural theory will focus on areas of his model that do not match clinical realities and therefore impede the use of his model as a clinical instrument. The clinically significant issue regarding Fairbairn's structural model is the relationship between the anti-libidinal ego and the rejecting object.
