Discussion

When he talked about repression, Freud occasionally compared unconscious impulses to an unruly, uninvited stranger clamoring to get into a respectable gathering. Barring his admission once wouldn't be enough, Freud warned; “three or four … strong men” would have to guard the door against subsequent attempts (1910, p. 25). For many years, relational thinking, like that boisterous intruder, has been trying to crash the party of classical psychoanalysis.

Wily and persistent intruders, relational concepts have appeared in many guises and have relied on a range of tactics to get through the gates. From the “more Freudian than thou” polemic of Melanie Klein, to the brash confrontations of Sullivan's interpersonal psychiatry, to “just adding where the theory has gaps” approach of Mahler and the early Kohut, it has become apparent over time that relational thinking simply will not go away. But until recently, for each attempt there have been at least three or four strong men (and women) to block entry effectively.

Now, I think, it is time to declare the struggle over. There is a solid and growing consensus that the theory of object relations is central at least to what we do as psychoanalysts. Perhaps (although more controversial) there is even consensus that relational sensibilities are an essential facet of a psychoanalytic vision of the human condition. Object relations theory has made its way