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Foreword. I have been pointing out how the studies of Ferenczi (1909), Freud, Abraham (1924), Klein, and others have led to the formulation of the notion of projective and introjective processes. As a consequence of this pioneer work there has been, in a comparatively short time, a considerable accumulation of clinical observations. But these can no longer be accurately expressed in terms of the concepts so far in use. The result is that various facts are frequently suppressed, distorted, or simply ignored, because they do not fit into the existing frame.
The purpose of this chapter is to put forward a scheme for observation, research, and work with patients which, I believe, both avoids the disadvantage just mentioned and provides opportunities for further growth of the subject. It will, I hope, become apparent that this scheme starts from and preserves the relevant knowledge so far acquired.
The reader will see that some ideas put forward here apply mostly or exclusively to projective processes. Later some aspects which apply mostly or exclusively to introjection will be added. Here, however, both types of process can be considered from a more general point of view, because, though one of them goes outwards and the other inwards, the basic factors at work may be the same in both cases.
In Chapter 8 the notion of levels was defined in terms of the