The Mythology Surrounding Freud and Klein: Implications for Psychoanalysis

In The Mythology Surrounding Freud and Klein, Charlotte Schwartz challenges the current misperceptions and theoretical ideas surrounding Sigmund Freud and Melanie Klein through a systematic review of their respective theoretical work and clinical studies. Specifically, Schwartz argues against the current perception that Klein was the originator of object relations theory and that Freud’s metapsychology was a drive-centered theory with little regard for the object and object relations. Schwartz further examines the development of drive and object relations through a review of key theorists who influenced psychoanalytic training and treatment methodology in this area, including Ferenczi, Abraham, Jones, Fairbairn, Guntrip, and Winnicott. This book is recommended for scholars of psychology and history.