A basic understanding of psychoanalytic or psychodynamic concepts is recommended. Participants are expected to engage with theoretical material, clinical examples, and group discussions throughout the training.

No prior specialized study of Melanie Klein or Kleinian psychoanalysis is required.

This training offers a theoretical and clinical introduction to the work of Melanie Klein and her central place in the development of psychoanalytic thought.

The program explores the shift from classical psychoanalysis, with its emphasis on drives and Oedipal conflict, toward a deeper understanding of early object relations, primitive anxieties, unconscious phantasy, splitting, projection, and projective identification.

Particular attention is given to the ways in which early relationships with internal and external objects shape the inner world and influence later psychic functioning. The training examines Klein’s major contributions including the paranoid-schizoid and depressive positions, part and whole objects, good and bad objects, primitive defenses, envy, gratitude, and reparation and their relevance to contemporary clinical practice.

Throughout the training, theoretical concepts are directly linked to clinical material, particularly in understanding patients presenting with borderline, psychotic, narcissistic, and other forms of functioning characterized by primitive anxieties, splitting, projection, and difficulties in psychic integration.

Teaching Methods

The training combines:

• Interactive psychoanalytic lectures
• Theoretical diagrams to clarify key concepts and their interconnections
• Clinical and everyday life examples
• Discussion of brief clinical material
• Interactive questions and group discussions
• Direct articulation between Kleinian concepts and contemporary therapeutic practice

Training Duration and Schedule

Total Duration: 15 hours

Structure: Three sessions of 5 hours each

Session 1 

Melanie Klein, Unconscious Phantasy, and Early Object Relations

Melanie Klein and the Development of Psychoanalytic Thought:

• Klein’s position in psychoanalysis after Freud
• Her place within the British psychoanalytic tradition
• The controversies with Anna Freud around child analysis
• Play as a pathway to the child’s unconscious
• The development of object relations thinking

Unconscious Phantasy:

• The concept of unconscious phantasy in Kleinian theory
• Conscious versus unconscious phantasy
• Unconscious phantasy as an organizer of psychic experience
• The relationship between bodily experience, drives, and phantasy
• Clinical and everyday manifestations of unconscious phantasy

Early Object Relations:

• The breast as the first object
• Good and bad objects
• Part objects and whole objects
• Introjection and projection
• The construction of the child’s internal world

Clinical Integration:

• Manifestations of object relations within the therapeutic setting
• Splitting between good and bad representations of the self and others
• Clinical examples
• Group discussion and participants’ questions

Session 2 

The Paranoid-Schizoid and Depressive Positions

The Paranoid-Schizoid Position:

• The meaning of “position” in Kleinian theory
• Persecutory anxiety
• Splitting as a primitive defense
• Projection and introjection
• Idealization and devaluation
• Denial of psychic reality
• Primitive modes of psychic organization

Primitive Defenses:

• Splitting
• Projection
• Introduction to projective identification
• Idealization
• Devaluation
• Denial
• Omnipotent control of the object

The Depressive Position:

• The movement from part-object to whole-object relating
• Recognition that the loved and hated object are one and the same
• Guilt
• Concern for the object
• Reparation
• The development of the capacity for love and gratitude
• The depressive position and psychic maturation

Clinical Integration:

• Differentiating persecutory anxiety from depressive anxiety
• Recognizing these dynamics within the therapeutic relationship
• Clinical discussion
• Participants’ questions

Session 3 

Projective Identification, Envy, Gratitude, and Clinical Applications

Projective Identification:

• Definition and theoretical foundations
• Projection versus projective identification
• The projection of aspects of the self into the therapist
• Projective identification and countertransference
• Clinical relevance to borderline and psychotic functioning

Envy, Jealousy, and Greed:

• Klein’s concept of envy
• Envy versus jealousy
• Envy versus greed
• Envy of the good object
• The destructive impact of envy on relationships and the therapeutic process

Gratitude and Reparation:

• Gratitude as a psychic capacity
• Gratitude and the depressive position
• The wish to repair the object
• Psychic maturation and the capacity to love
• Clinical implications for therapeutic change

Clinical Applications of Kleinian Theory:

• Understanding transference from a Kleinian perspective
• Understanding countertransference
• Primitive defenses in borderline and psychotic functioning
• Applying Kleinian concepts to the understanding of patients
• The scope and limitations of Kleinian theory in contemporary clinical practice

Integration and Closing Discussion:

• Review and integration of the central concepts
• From Melanie Klein to later object relations theories
• The relevance of Kleinian thought to contemporary psychoanalytic psychotherapy
• Participants’ questions and final discussion

By the end of the training, participants will be able to:

• Understand Melanie Klein’s place in the development of psychoanalytic theory and object relations thinking
• Differentiate key aspects of classical Freudian and Kleinian approaches to psychic life
• Understand the concepts of unconscious phantasy, part and whole objects, good and bad objects, projection, introjection, splitting, and projective identification
• Distinguish between the paranoid-schizoid and depressive positions and understand their role in psychic development
• Recognize primitive anxieties and defenses within clinical material and the therapeutic relationship
• Differentiate projection from projective identification and understand its implications for countertransference
• Understand Klein’s concepts of envy, jealousy, greed, gratitude, and reparation
• Apply Kleinian concepts to the understanding of borderline, psychotic, narcissistic, and other forms of primitive psychic functioning
• Understand transference and countertransference from a Kleinian perspective
• Integrate Kleinian thinking into a broader understanding of contemporary psychoanalytic psychotherapy and object relations theory