Psychotherapy, Object relations (Psychoanalysis), Ego (Psychology), self, Psychotherapist and patient 

The term object relations refers to specific intrapsychic structures, to an aspect of ego organization. These intrapsychic structures, the mental representations of self and other (the object), become manifest in the interpersonal situation. Object-relations thinking has become central rather than peripheral to the understanding and treatment of patients. By integrating clinical observation with explanatory concepts concerning the nature and development of object relations. The author provides a logical framework within which to order, understand, and put to use the data of therapy. The text brings together attachment theory, cognitive theory dealing with mental structures, and object-relations theory while placing major emphasis on the evolution, within the maternal matrix, of a cohesive, reality-based, object-related self. Just as in this context the primary mothering person is viewed as the mediator of organization, so the therapist is viewed as the mediator of organization within the therapeutic matrix. Editorial Reviews Review No book with which we are familiar presents as good an account of the clinical application of the . . . psychoanalytic viewpoint as Object Relations and the Developing Ego in Therapy. No other exposition breathes life into these abstract principles as well as this volume does. (Raphael Stern) Dr. Horner presents rich and useful ideas for formulating and working dynamically with severely limited patients. Her integrative formulation of preoedipal pathology is both useful and practical. (Shapiro, Edward R. American Journal Of Psychiatry) Perhaps the acid test for any book on psychoanalytic theory is the light it sheds on the complex problems that a therapist faces. This book passes that test with flying colors. I now see my patients in a different light and I have changed my approach with beneficial results. (Samuel L. Bradshaw, Jr. The Bulletin Of The Menninger Clinic) --This text refers to the Paperback edition. About the Author Dr. Althea Horner is an Honorary Member of the Southern California Psychoanalytic Institute and Society and a Scientific Associate of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis. She is listed in Who's Who in America and has been writing and articles and books for forty years. While Dr. Horner has retired from clinical practice, she continues to write in Pasadena, California. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.