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34 In this paper I shall discuss the schizophrenic patient's use of language and the bearing of this on the theory and practice of analysis. At a later date I shall acknowledge my indebtedness to, and discuss the views of, the psychoanalysts who have contributed to the growth of my own views. I cannot do that now, but I must make it clear for the better understanding of what I say that, even where I do not make specific acknowledgement of the fact, Melanie Klein's work occupies a central position in my view of the psychoanalytic theory of schizophrenia. I assume that the explanation of terms such as ‘projective identification’ and the ‘paranoid’ and ‘depressive positions’ is known through her work.
By approaching the subject through consideration of verbal thought I run the risk of appearing to neglect the nature of the schizophrenic's object relations. I must therefore emphasize now that I think that the peculiarity of the schizophrenic's object relations is the outstanding feature of schizophrenia. The importance of the points that I wish to make lies in their capacity to illuminate the nature of this object relationship of which they are a subordinate function.
35 The material is derived from the analysis of six patients; two were drug addicts, one an obsessional anxiety state with schizoid features, and the remaining three schizophrenics all of whom suffered from hallucinations which were well in evidence over a period of between four and five years of analysis. Of these three, two showed marked paranoid features and one depression.
I did not depart from the psychoanalytic procedure I usually employ with neurotics, being careful always to take up both positive and negative aspects of the transference.