A critical comparison and evaluation of the classical etiological formula and the Kleinian viewpoint on obsessional neurosis.

Bibliography: leaves 224-232.This study aims at exploring and explicating a latent controversy in the psychoanalytic literature between the 'classical etiological formula' and the Kleinian viewpoint on obsessional neurosis.The classical formula, which comprises Freud's original theses and subsequent contributions, is comprehensively reviewed and its particular depiction of the internal structure of obsessional neurosis is spelt out. Klein's writings on the topic, although they enjoy a definite status amongst certain contemporary writers, have never before been properly systematised. The comparison suggests that major contradictions exist between the two viewpoints

The new dictionary of Kleinian thought

The New Dictionary of Kleinian Thought provides a comprehensive and wholly accessible exposition of Kleinian ideas. Offering a thorough update of R.D. Hinshelwood’s highly acclaimed original, this book draws on the many developments in the field of Kleinian theory and practice since its publication. The book first addresses twelve major themes of Kleinian psychoanalytic thinking in scholarly essays organised both historically and thematically. Themes discussed include: •unconscious phantasy, child analysis •the paranoid schizoid and depressive positions, the oedipus complex •projective identification, symbol formation. Following this, entries are listed alphabetically, allowing the reader to find out about a particular theme - from Karl Abraham to Whole Object - and to delve as lightly or as deeply as needed. As such this book will be essential reading for psychoanalysts, psychotherapists as well as all those with an interest in Kleinian thought