You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
The psychoanalytic literature now contains a number of fine books devoted to comparing and contrasting various theoretical stances. The special viewpoint of the author of this book, Frank Summers, is to elucidate the treatment approach of each of the object relations theorists he discusses. The opening chapter is an excellent historical review on the origins of object relations theories. This is followed by separate chapters on the work of Fairbairn and Guntrip, Melanie Klein, D. W. Winnicott, Otto Kernberg, Heinz Kohut, and the interpersonalists. The final chapter is the author's attempt to develop “An Object Relations Paradigm for Psychoanalysis” (p. 345). In each chapter there is an extensive overview of the theoretical contributions of the analyst discussed, which includes basic concepts, ideas on development, psychopathology, and treatment. Finally, there is a critique of the point of view presented.
Summers states that he is offering a “comprehensive understanding” of object relations theories. His emphasis is on how the clinical process develops from the assumptions and principles of theory. In each chapter he offers the reader a view of the practical applications of the particular theory to the clinical work. For example, I counted references to nine patients in the Klein chapter, twelve in the Winnicott chapter and eleven in the Kernberg chapter. This approach makes the theory come alive and thus fosters the reader's reexamination of the work of these contributors.
An additional area of interest is in the author's attempt to integrate the various theories presented into an object relations paradigm for psychoanalysis. “The common principle of all object relations theories is the view that the fundamental human motivation is for object