Major Figures in Object Relations Theory: Core Ideas & Contributions
Dr Lynda Chassler
About This Course
This course introduces the major figures and foundational ideas that shaped British Object Relations Theory, tracing the movement from Freud’s drive-based model toward an increasingly relational understanding of psychological development. Through the contributions of Melanie Klein, W. R. D. Fairbairn, Harry Guntrip, Michael Balint and Donald Winnicott, the course explores how early relationships become internalised and influence the developing self, later relationships, and psychological difficulties.
Key concepts include Klein’s paranoid-schizoid and depressive positions, Fairbairn’s shift from pleasure-seeking to object-seeking, Guntrip’s understanding of schizoid withdrawal, Balint’s basic fault, and Winnicott’s emphasis on the facilitating environment, dependence and the development of the self. The course also considers the important theoretical movement from Klein’s emphasis on unconscious phantasy and internal objects toward Winnicott’s greater emphasis on the actual caregiving environment.
SHORT COURSE
Explore Object Relations
Deepen Your Understanding of Object Relations and the Internal World
THE COURSE CURRICULUM
Discover the Foundations of Object Relations
Self-paced module: 4 lessons · 2 hours video · slides · quiz · 1 year access · instant 2 hour CPD certificate
SHORT COURSE
Deepen Your Understanding of Early Relationships
Explore How Internal Objects and Early Relationships Influence Adult Life
About Dr Lynda Chassler
Dr. Lynda Chassler is a Training and Supervising Psychoanalyst at the Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis (ICP) in Los Angeles. She holds a Ph.D. in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Clinical Social Work. Dr. Chassler maintains a private practice in Beverly Hills, California, where she specializes in treating complex clinical presentations rooted in early developmental failures. Her clinical focus includes primitive mental states, eating disorders, and borderline and narcissistic personality structures. Dr. Chassler is particularly known for her work on the psychological underpinnings of disordered eating and has published in the area of eating disorders, contributing to the psychoanalytic understanding of these challenging conditions.