Friday, November 2, 2018

Object Relations Theory



Overview
Object relations theory is a variation of the psychoanalytic theory from Sigmund Freud.  The Objects relations theory argues that human beings are driven by the desire for contact with others.  In other words, people have the constant need to form relationships.  Melanie Klein is credited with developing the Objects Relations Theory.  Klein based her theory on the argument that infants internalize into their unconscious the representations of reality that they encounter.  The objects then become a basis under which an individual interprets experiences in his or her life.  Klein also argued that infants experience a spit as they are born and begin experiencing the world around them.
 Splitting is a process that involves looking at an object as either good or bad based on the experience with the object.  In an infant’s life, the critical contact is with the mother.  The first object that the child encounters is the mother’s breast.  If the breast always provides the infant with milk, then the child considers the breast as good (Parker, 2008).  In contrast, if the breast does not provide the infant with adequate milk, then he or she perceives the breast as bad.  It is only when the child matures that he or she loses the good and bad categorization as perceives everything as a mix of good and bad.  From Klein’s perspective, she argued that a child will feel ambivalent towards loved objects because, in some instances, the object frustrates the child.  Therefore, a child will begin to perceive a breast as bad if it fails to produce milk or a diaper as bad if it wet and irritating him.
After Klein, theorists such as Donald Winnicott established their definition and analysis of the Theory of the Object relations.  Winnicott emphasized on the development of the self-object as a result of the relationship with the mother.  Winnicott adopted the concept of mirroring where he argued that people develop a sense of self-worth from the pleasures they see from their mother faces.  An infant thus sees him or herself from the mother’s eyes. When using Winnicott’s approach in therapy, a therapist will strive to re-create the mother-child relationship so as to build his client’s sense of self-worth.  Winnicott perceived that for an individual to acquire a true sense of the self, he must have a “good-enough mothering” i.e. a mother who is mostly aware of the child’s desires.  For instance, when a child is hungry, and he cries then immediately his needs are served, he acquires a feel of omnipotence.  The child begins to believe that he has the potential to make things happen around him. In contrast, when the child’s needs are not met, he will develop feelings of emptiness and frustrations (Mandin, 2007).  Similarly, when the mother is too good towards the child, the child may develop a sense of entitlement.  The child also becomes independent on the mother, and the situation may remain so through to adulthood.
Implication of Objects Relations Theory
 The Objects Relations Theory can be effective in explaining how people relate to other people.  It is easy for an individual to judge another person based on a previous experience with someone else.  For instance, a person can have an instant dislike of another person because the person (although meeting them for the first time) reminds them of an experience/ object of their past.  Similarly, the Object Relations theory can be used to explain the presence of personality issues. For instance, a person who fails to love him may develop personality issues.  Based on previous experience, a person may see him or herself as good, bad or perfect.

Objects Therapy Theory in Practice
Psychologists, therapists, and counselors can use the objects relation theory to evaluate and assist their clients.  The application of principles of objects relations theory in therapy strives to assist individuals to identify and address deficits in their interpersonal functioning.  Therapists apply the theory with the expectation that they can help their clients improve the diverse relationships in their lives.  The therapists will strive to analyze the client’s previous life experiences and how the experiences impact his life.   In fact, the therapist aims to understand how childhoods object/experience impact current, behavior, emotions, and relationships. 
Therapists also strive to determined aspects of the self that were split and repressed.  It is by bringing out the areas of split and allowing the individual to discuss them that the path towards recovery can be established (Parker, 2008).  Therapists also use their client’s life experience to determine their experience of good and bad objects.  The therapist then establishes how the client interacted with the good and bad object thus resulting in influence in his or her life.
Therapists strive to analyze a client’s behavior based on infantile object relations and defenses presented by their client.  In the introductory stages of the therapy, the client strives to understand the inner world, family background, trusts so that the client becomes more open and engaging during the session. The therapist then takes notes of the client’s behavior and makes a connection with the past and present experiences that the client highlights.
 Objects relations theory is also used in family therapy.  Object-relations family therapy aims at assisting dysfunctional families to overcome their deep-rooted problems.  According to Mandin, (2007), the family comprises of a small group of members who have interconnected roles and relationships. The objects-relations family therapy perceives insight as for the necessary precursor to change.  The therapy also strives to make the unconscious to become conscious so as to enhance interpersonal relationships.  Overall, object-relations therapy is critical in enhancing the understanding of human functioning as an expression of individual intrapsychic fields that interact with each other as well as with the family, community and culture.  Object relations theory is also effective in understanding and resolving the problem of domestic violence.  The theory can be applied in therapy to explain how a relationship based on love can turn sour and become filled with hatred and violence.  In most instances, therapists always find an experience that links a perpetrator of domestic violence with his or her current actions (Mandin, 2007).  The therapist thus revisits the past, address the underlying issue and find a solution.  It is by resolving and or helping an individual understand a previous life experience that bad behavior can be resolved.
Limitations
There has been criticism that therapists applying the object relations theory in their practice are ignoring the fact that medical conditions such as autism and psychosis cannot be resolved through therapy. Modern object relations theorists appreciate that some patient need additional forms of therapies as well as pharmacological interventions so as to make a full recovery. The application of objects relation theory in therapy also requires a lot of patience and time as it aims to address deep-rooted perception and concerns.  The recovery process may thus take years unlike other approaches of therapy.  The duration of the therapy also reflects a high cost of care (Mandin, 2007).

Conclusion
Object relations theory is a branch oof psychoanalytic theory.  Object relations theory focuses on interpersonal relationships and how they influence a person in later life.  Specifically, object relations theory addresses relations in the family and to be precise, relations between the mother and the child.  At birth, the mother is the first object that the child interacts with and the form of relationship formed from the mother-child bond can build or destroy the child later in their lives.  The term object thus refers to the person while relations refer to the residues of a previous relationship.  The perception of the relationship that the child had can influence personality and a person’s sense of self-worth. Therapists have applied the theory in assisting their clients to resolve their problems. Interpersonal and behavioral problems arising from a person’s childhood can only be resolved by revisiting the past..

Reference
Mandin, P. (2007). The contribution of systems and object-relation theories to an understanding of the therapeutic relationship in social work practice. Journal Of Social Work Practice, 21(2), 149-162. Doi: 10.1080/02650530701371861
Parker, S. (2008). Winnicott's object relations theory and the work of the Holy Spirit. Journal of Psychology & Theology, 36(4), 285-293



Sherry Roberts is the author of this paper. A senior editor at MeldaResearch.Com in college research paper services if you need a similar paper you can place your order for best essay services online.


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