Kleinian Theory

Book excerpt: The purpose of the Whurr series in Psychoanalysis edited by Peter Fonagy and Mary Target of University College London, is to publish clinical and research based texts of academic excellence in the field. Each title makes a significant contribution and the series is open-ended. The readership is academic and graduate students in psychoanalysis, together with clinical practitioners, in Europe, North America and indeed worldwide. This book comprises an introduction to major psychoanalytical concepts in Kleinian theory starting with the ideas formulated by Melanie Klein and extending them to those developed by her main followers. There are chapters focusing on the Psychoanalytic play technique, unconscious phantasy, paranoid-schizoid and depressive positions,envy and gratitude, oedipus complex, projective identification, internal objects, symbolisation, models of the mind, containment and transference. Emphasis has been placed on clarity and there is ample illustration of central concepts with clinical examples. Its chapters have been written by leading psychoanalysts: David Bell, Jill Boswell, Ronald Britton, Catalina Bronstein, Marco Chiesa, Betty Joseph, Ruth Riesemberg Malcolm, Hanna Segal, Elizabeth Bott Spillius, Priscilla Roth and Jane Temperley. The book will be useful to students of Psychology, Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychoanalysis as well as to specialists who want to consolidate their knowledge.