Course Description

The content of this class is organized around the historical development of different perspectives in psychoanalytic theory, tracing the development of Freudian drive theory into object relations, including Klein’s perspectives on the paranoid-schizoid versus depressive position, as well as special topics including observing ego capacity, the development of object relations, the idea of primitive mental states, and Kernberg’s developmental models. The discussions will include discussions of readings by Klein, Bion, and Winnicott, Kohut, the feminist critique of psychoanalysis, and the “developmental tilt.”

Learning Objectives

Describe the historical progression from Freudian drive theory to object relations, self psychology, and contemporary developmental models, and explain how these shifts altered psychoanalytic conceptions of pathology, development, and therapeutic action.
Differentiate key psychoanalytic constructs—including paranoid-schizoid and depressive positions, observing ego capacity, and primitive mental states—and use these concepts to assess levels of psychological organization and defensive functioning in clinical presentations.
Analyze the contributions of major psychoanalytic thinkers such as Melanie Klein, Wilfred Bion, D. W. Winnicott, and Heinz Kohut, and translate their theoretical insights into clinically relevant formulations of transference, affect regulation, and therapeutic containment.

The Aion Institute is approved by the California Psychological Association to provide continuing professional education for psychologists. The Aion Institute (AIO279) maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

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AION 103 Introductory Theories and Technique in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy