Routledge Object Relations: Selected Theoretical Perspectives

This book presents a concise yet comprehensive exploration of key object relations theories and their relevance in contemporary society. It traces the impact of early interactions with the ‘mothering person’ on the infant’s psychic development and examines psychogenic pathology as a manifestation of self-arrest shaped by anxiety-driven object attachments. The text engages with Melanie Klein’s matriarchal formulation of object relations, Balint’s relational framework, Mahler’s concepts of symbiosis and separation–individuation, and Winnicott’s existential orientation. The text further provides critical insights into Fairbairn’s dynamic trinity, Bion’s movement towards psychospiritual understanding, and Bowlby’s ethological emphasis on attachment and dependency. Kohut’s self-psychological view of narcissistic energies is examined alongside Kernberg’s ego psychological object relations model and Chodorow’s feminist analysis of gender and culture. It concludes with a critical comparative appraisal of the selected theories. Written in clear and accessible language, the book offers practical guidance to the praxis of object relational psychoanalysis through illustrative case vignettes from Indian mythology, fairy tales, popular movies, novels and case illustrations. It is intended as an enriching resource for psychoanalytic practitioners, theorists, faculty members, research scholars, and postgraduate students, and serves as a valuable reference for allied disciplines, including psychology, philosophy, psychiatry, social work, public health, medical education, and psychiatric nursing.