The psychoanalytic theory of Melanie Klein

This referent of psychoanalysis created a theory that tried to explain the infantile mind.

Disciple of Sigmund Freud and one of the most important authors of psychoanalysis, Melanie Klein is known for her adaptation of the psychoanalytic model to work with children.She is one of the leading authors in working with children.

Melanie Klein's psychoanalytic theory, while continuing Freud's work in many aspects, stands out for broadening and deepening aspects of development throughout childhood and creating a more focused approach on how the individual relates to objects (generally understood as other people), this being the basis of the theory of object relations.

Melanie Klein and the object relations theory

The psychoanalytic theory of Melanie Klein is based mainly on his theory of object relations.. This theory establishes that the subject relates to the environment from the sensations and impulses he feels and projects on the objects of his impulse. The relationships with these objects generate permanent traces that will mark the future relationship with others, internalizing the experiences lived and originating on the basis of them the psychological structure of the subject.

Thus, the psychic configuration of a person would be based on how he or she has related and internalized the interaction with these objects, and the individual would develop on this basis. In other words, past learning is of great importance for Melanie Klein's theory, unlike the biologicist current of the time, which defended the essential role of genes.

The individual and his development

In Klein's psychoanalytic theory, the human being is from birth in a constant state of conflict between life or love and death or hate drives. state of conflict between the drives for life or love and those for death or hate.. Throughout the development of the being, the subject will have to overcome the stages and conflicts of the vital stage he is living, forging a balance between the external and the internal through relationships with different objects and enriching over time his self, personality and character.

During this development the individual will go through different phases, varying the way in which we grasp reality and relate our impulses and desires to it and reaching different milestones and aspects that help us to generate an integrated self that allows us to cope with the conflicts between the desires of the ego and the censorship of the superego.

The ego in psychoanalysis

Although Melanie Klein's work is largely a follower of Sigmund Freud's, there are some aspects in which divergences can be found.

One of the main ones is that while the father of psychoanalysis considers that at birth the human being is pure it, in Melanie Klein's psychoanalytic theory, it is believed that from birth the infant has a primitive self. it is believed that from birth the infant has a primitive self, which allows it to bond which allows it to bond with objects and to project its own unconscious impulses and conflicts onto them.

Thus, in the beginning, object relations would be based on the projection of impulses projection of impulses and the introjection of external stimuli.The ego would then develop into a more or less differentiated self in the different stages or positions.

The positions of development

In the psychoanalytic theory of Melanie Klein it is established that Throughout development, the human being goes through a series of stages in which he/she develops the self and relationships with the environment. in which the self and the relationships with the environment are developed. Specifically, she establishes the presence of two specific positions in childhood in which object relations and the anxieties derived from them evolve towards an integration of the self, the schizo-paranoid position and the depressive position.

The author proposes a time of appearance of each one, but does not deny the possibility that adult subjects suffer some kind of regression and/or fixation in any of them. Thus, the schizo-paranoid position would be more linked to the emergence of psychotic disorders and the depressive position to neurotic disorders.

1. Schizo-paranoid position

This position appears as the first type of object relationship, initiated at birth and tends to last until six months of age. At this early stage of development, the child is not yet able to identify what is the self and what is not, having a concrete thought and not being able to distinguish holistic elements.

Not being able to distinguish the self from the non-self, the child cannot integrate the joint existence of rewarding and aversive aspects in the same object, so he/she reacts by identifying objects in a partial way, making him/her consider the existence of a good one that takes care of him/her and a bad one that takes care of him/her and a bad one that does not. the existence of a good one that takes care of him/her and a bad one that harms or frustrates him/her (this mechanism is called splitting). (this defense mechanism is called splitting), projecting his impulses and attempts on them. The most important example and the one that will mark the infant the most is that of the maternal breast, which at times breastfeeds him and at others frustrates him.

Due to the existence of a bad, persecutory object, the infant will develop anxiety and anguish, the infant will develop anxiety and anguish anguish at the idea that it may attack him. Thus, a paranoid fear develops, which in turn will awaken aggressive and sadistic instincts towards the object. Likewise, confusion and anguish are frequent due to the lack of knowledge of what object will be found.

If the child manages to introject the good aspect of the objects (essentially the mother's good breast) through the experience of more or better positive than negative experiences, he/she will manage to form a healthy self that will allow him/her to move on to the next position.

2. Depressive position

As the child matures, he/she begins to have a greater development of the self and a better ability to discern what is self from what is not, being now able to observe that objects are independent of themselves. This stage arises around six months after birth.

The good aspect of objects is incorporated and introjected, specifically of the maternal breastThe child is able to integrate the pleasant and unpleasant aspects of objects. Gradually, the child is able to see objects as a single element that can sometimes be good and sometimes bad.

Aggressive drives decreaseand observing that the object is an independent entity gives rise to fear and anxiety at the possibility of its loss. Thus, in this position or stage, depressive type anxieties appear, which are added to those of the previous position. Feelings of guilt and gratitude towards objects are born, and defense mechanisms such as the repression of instincts and displacement begin to be applied.

The Oedipus complex

One of the most controversial concepts in psychoanalytic theory is the Oedipus complex, which according to Freud appears during the phallic stage around the age of three. In Melanie Klein's psychoanalytic theory this complex is much earlier, appearing together with the integration of partial objects into a total object during the depressive position.

In other words, Klein considers that there is an Oedipus complex from the moment the child is able to discern that his parents are individuals alien to him, observing that there is a bond between them of which he is not a part. The child projects his desires onto this bondThe child projects his desires on this bond, generating envy and provoking ambivalent feelings about it.

Later the Oedipus complex proposed by Freud will appear, at the moment in which the ambivalence is reduced and the choice is made between the desire for one parent and the rivalry and identification with the other.

Symbolic play and unconscious fantasy

The ability to express oneself verbally and and to externalize thoughts, emotions, desires and experiences through words and to externalize thoughts, emotions, desires and experiences through words. This ability requires a certain level of maturational development and learning, as well as a certain capacity for introspection.

Thus, it is extremely complex for a child who has not completed his or her development to be able to express his or her drives, desires and anxieties. This is one of the main reasons why the free association method of Freudian psychoanalysis could not originally be applied to children.

However, the drive elements, the desires and fears that are part of everyone, are present from birth. For Melanie Klein's psychoanalytic theory, although in infancy these elements may not be conscious, they may be symbolized in the generation of fantasies. In this way, unconscious fantasies act as a method of expression of the basic instincts and anxieties, projecting them in play and directing to a great extent the child's attitude and behavior.These are projected in play and largely direct the attitude and behavior of the child.

In this aspect, one of the most valued contributions of Melanie Klein's psychoanalytic theory is the introduction of symbolic play as a method of evaluation and work with children. For Klein, play is a method of communication in which the infant externalizes in which the infant externalizes his or her primal concerns and desires in an indirect way. Thus, by analyzing the symbolism enclosed in the play process, it is possible to observe the unconscious fantasies that govern the child's behavior in a manner analogous to that used in free association methods applied to adults.

When using symbolic play it is very important the setting o adjustment of the situation, i.e. to take into account the need for the sessions, the type of furniture and toys to be suitable for the child so that he/she is not imposed how he/she should play. The child should choose those toys that he/she wants to use by him/herself, being able to freely express his/her fears, anxieties and desires through them.