Object relations therapy operates on the theory that the ego-self exists only in relation to other objects, whether internal or external. Object relations was originally a British development of Freudian psychoanalytical theory by DW Winnicott, Ronald Fairbairn, Harry Guntrip and others, which places relationship at the centre of what it is to be human. Object relations sees the self as a personal self developing and existing within the context of relationship, primarily the parents but also taking into consideration home, art, politics, culture, etc. It rests on the beliefs that human beings are social beings, therefore, contact with others is a basic need and our inner world is a changing dynamic process, made up of fixed and fluid patterns, conscious and unconscious. These dynamics effect how we perceive and experience reality.
The object relations therapist does not assume a passive role in therapy, as in Freudian analysis, but interacts with the client, supporting him or her in the resolution of pathological constructs through the active experience of the real relationship between the therapist and the client. The opportunity to re-experience such necessary relational issues as loss, intimacy, control, dependency, autonomy and trust, etc represent the primary supportive influence of the therapist. Though interpretation and confrontation may be involved, the primary objective is the working through original pathological components of the patient's emotional world. The skilled therapist offers a safe, caring relational environment, and is aware of the client's unconscious attempts to involve the therapist in the same patterns of relationship as those that constitute the patient's distorted dynamic interactions with significant others.
Related UKCP modality sections:
Council for psychoanalysis and Jungian analysis (CPJA) |
