ABSTRACT
Donald Meltzer’s theory of the “aesthetic conflict” brings a very different emphasis to the Kleinian developmental theory. It presents the beginning of mental life as having a more positive valence, away from frustration and absence as the initial driving force to development and towards a more complicated look at the nature of the earliest relationship to a “present” object. The theory with this emphasis, if accepted, can greatly influence the way in which we work with our patients. This chapter will focus on the way in which his theories of infancy have influenced my own work with couples. The extended view of the Kleinian theory that Meltzer offers provides a more challenging and complex way to work with couples.
