ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the British tradition of object relations theory and the main influence in the American tradition, Heinz Kohut and his influence on other theorists such as Kernberg. Object relations theory was developed from Freudian psychoanalysis by Melanie Klein in Great Britain and Heinz Kohut in the USA. Klein characterised the basic and fundamental problem for the primitive ego as coping with anxiety and finding ways of not being overwhelmed by feelings of anxiety. Klein's approach to child analysis was rejected by Anna Freud, but became an important feature of Klein's work. Basically, Klein regarded a child's free play as the equivalent to free association using language in the adult. Sigmund Freud found his approach to psychoanalysis difficult for people who suffered from psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia and manic depression. Kohut's approach to psychoanalysis was not to use the technique of free association fundamental to the Freudian approach.
