ABSTRACT
Object relations are at the core of psychoanalytic work-they are the stuff of the transference-and whatever our theory of object relations, it must deeply influence our understanding of the nature of transference. Freud discovered the existence of transference directly from clinical observation, where he saw that the patient inevitably repeated parts of his past relationships with his analyst. Only subsequently did he start to formulate his ideas on object relations. All analysts now hold theories of object relations, basically rooted in Freud’s work. I want to start from a theoretical angle, bringing first some theoretical observations, and then some vignettes of clinical material, in order to show object relations as they are lived out in the consulting room. I shall discuss how my understanding of this clinical material derives from my theoretical background, but also how such theory has constantly to be re-discovered in actual clinical work. I think that this re-discovery can best take place by examining object relations as they emerge dynamically in the transference.
