ABSTRACT
Since Fairbairn first produced the basic outline of an object relations theory of mind and its applications to clinical work, his ideas have provided a sturdy framework for psychoanalysis and its applications that put relationships at the centre of development, and that place the therapeutic relationship at the heart of clinical work. This book is a testament to the depth and breadth these ideas have engendered. For me, his basic framework has continued to be the backbone of many theoretical additions that give ever more strength to an object relations approach. However, when I use the term “object relations”, I include the protean developments in analytic theory, in the allied fields of family and couple therapy, in studies of human development, and in the expansion of our ideas from science that increase our understanding and reach.
