Object Relations Theory

Question 1

Primary Contributors

Answer 1

Melanie Klien
Donald Winnicot

Question 2

Countertransference

Answer 2

The therapist’s tendency to attribute qualities that reflect unresolved grievances from a past relationship onto a client

Question 3

Working Through

Answer 3

After insight is achieved, the working-through process entails translating insight into more desirable and constructive ways of being

Question 4

Transference

Answer 4

The tendency of individuals to attribute qualities to other individuals- partners, family members, or the therapist- that reflect unresolved grievances from a previous relationship

Question 5

Projective Identification

Answer 5

When a child is born, each parent of the couple system projects the remnants of his or her repressed object relationships onto the child. The child then internalizes these projections into becoming significant components of his or her personality development

Question 6

Projection

Answer 6

When a child is born, each parent projects the fragments of his or her repressed object relationships onto the child.

Question 7

Object

Answer 7

an individual’s collective distortions based upon his or her subjective experiences and perceptions of another person- typically a primary care giver. The object is typically an internalized representation of a parent or primary caregiver based upon a series of repeated interactions throughout early childhood.

Question 8

Introject

Answer 8

Internalized objects become introjects and are split into being either all good or all bad

Question 9

Interpretation

Answer 9

The therapists hypotheses pertaining to the influence of a client’s past experiences on his or her current behaviors and struggles

Question 9

Insight

Answer 9

The process of raising unconscious forces to awareness, allowing clients to better understand how underlying dynamics impact their behavior and relationships,