ABSTRACT
This chapter is an elucidation of the work of Melanie Klein and those most influenced by her theory. The exposition of Klein’s theory begins with her emphasis on aggression and the transformation of drives into object relationships. The discussion proceeds to her developmental theory focusing on Klein’s major concepts, the paranoid-schizoid and depressive positions, splitting, the introjection and projection cycles, projective identification. These concepts are applied to Klein’s conception of psychopathology and analytic technique. The Kleinian technical approach to the analytic process is presented, with emphasis on its strict and forceful use of interpretation. Two “generations” of Kleinian analysts are discussed.
