ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the application of object relations theory, coupled with attachment theory, to psychotherapeutic work with families. It examines the issue of matching therapeutic style to family psychopathology. In particular, an argument is made for an object relations approach to family therapy with a borderline family, in which the approach focuses on the relationship aspects of the therapy, and where countertransference is used as the guide to the direction of the therapy. This post Kleinian approach distinguishes itself from that of the American relational school by its focus on the use of the countertransference and the unconscious phantasies operating in families. The aim of this approach to therapy is to facilitate integration in a family whose borderline pathology is seen to have its roots in disorganized attachment. M. Klein built on what A. Freud had proposed and stressed "object seeking" as a prime motivator in human behaviour, while still acknowledging the importance of instincts and drives.
