Object relations theory is a psychoanalytic contribution that stresses the role of the object in psychological processes. According to the theory, an object can either be a person or a given element of a person that is internalized by the subject (Cooper & Lesser, 2014). An object can further refer to events or a series of occurrences imposed by an external source, for example, the society. According to Freud, an object can be the cause of pleasure, pain, wish, and fantasy formation, whether real or perceived, and thus plays a significant role in psychic development (David, 2015). Since the events during a patient’s childhood affected their past, current, and future behavior and relationships, the application of object relations theory during the therapy sessions can help improve the understanding of patients’ situations and thus allocate the right treatment to them.
Robbie must have experienced some form of discrimination while she was growing up. Although her family might have been supportive, society could have been harsh on her, mocking her disability. Children may have been mocking or bullying her because of her disability. She could have also grown witness the treatment her disabled sibling was experiencing. Therefore, her experiences growing up must have affected her past and present relationships with others (Cooper et al., 2014). Due to past experience, Robbie has created a fantasy world where she has to be protective of any abuse and irritation from people (Summers, 2014). Therefore, she becomes sensitive to any offensive or abusive language. Thus, her experience in previous relationships can be the source of all the disturbances that have led to her multiple arrests.
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Another explanation for Robbie’s disturbances when drunk is the weakening of her ego due to consistent disappointment by the external objects. Due to the harsh environment and unhealthy relationships, while she was a kid, Robbie’s ego has experienced fear and shame, forcing it to retreat (Cooper et al., 2014). Therefore, she cannot experience any strong emotions for other persons since she fears that the individuals might cause her whatever harm she went through in her past. Therefore, apart from causing disturbances, she finds it difficult to open up to her therapist. In her mind, the therapist falls under the category of people who can hurt her. Although Robbie wants to strike a relationship with her therapist, as seen with the consistent attendance of her therapy sessions, she cannot freely speak about herself with the therapist because she is afraid of getting into a relationship that involves full emotional connection (Cooper et al., 2014).
In the therapist’s mind, Robbie is suffering from internalized oppression. An internalized oppression, in the case of Robbie, is that she has incorporated and accepted the prejudice against her for being disabled by the rest of the society (Flanagan, 2011). She feels powerless in confronting the sources of oppression. For example, according to the therapist, the neighbor had upset Robbie. However, Robbie did not feel the need to confront the neighbor because she feels helpless. The accumulation of these daunting events has seen the patient develop low self-esteem. Robbie is therefore detached and does not wish to talk about what upsets her because she feels that talking about it will not solve her problems. The internalized oppression, in addition to Robbie’s inability to develop healthy relationships, has forced Robbie to develop unorthodox methods to push away her oppressors as well as avoid talking about her situation.
The object relations theory can be applied to improve the working relationship between a patient and his or her therapist. In the case of Robbie, the time-limited dynamic psychotherapy (TLDP) can be applied to help Robbie open up to the therapist about the issues that irritate her (Cooper et al., 2014). The primary objective of this model is to change the in-built patterns of interpersonal relatedness and personality style. Therefore, the model employs the association between the patient and the therapist to discuss and adjust how the patient relates to others. The TLDP model is appropriate for Robbie because she is in emotional discomfort that demands that she partake in a strenuous change process (Hebert, McCormack & Callahan, 2010). Also, she has been consistently attending the therapy session, showing improvement in sharing with the therapist. Robbie accepted attending therapy as requested by the judge, which shows her willingness to correct her difficulties in relating to others. Since Robbie has been able to develop a meaningful relationship with her therapist, the TLDP model seems like the best option to help her improve her situation.
A therapy session with a child who was abused while growing up must employ the object relations theory model to help improve his relationship with others. Although the mother is a good parent, the father is violent and abusive. Therefore, the child is split between loving and being angry at his father (Cooper et al., 2014). In recent months, the relationship between the boy and her mother has also grown frail. Sometimes, the boy thinks that it is all his fault that he is being abused. The situation required the TLDP model to assure the boy that it is not his fault and find a way to separate the boy from his father emotionally. The relation with the boy had to be developed to ensure that he learns to trust adults again.
In conclusion, the object relations theory is an important concept that gives information about the reasons why a person is behaving the way he or she is. From childhood, an object, whether internal or external, can affect the relationship of the person. Therefore, to change and improve the relationship of Robbie with other persons, the TLDP model can be used.
References
Cooper, M., & Lesser, J. G. (2014). Clinical social work practice: An integrated approach . Pearson.
David L ., (2015) "Object Relations Theory (Melanie Klein)," in Learning Theories . [Online]. Retrieved from: https://www.learning-theories.com/object-relations-theory-melanie-klein.html . Accessed October 12, 2019.
Flanagan, L. M. (2011). Object relations theory. Inside out and outside in: Psychodynamic clinical theory and psychopathology in contemporary multicultural contexts , 118-157 .
Herbert, G. L., McCormack, V., & Callahan, J. L. (2010). An investigation of the object relations theory of depression. Psychoanalytic Psychology , 27 (2), 219 .
Summers, F. (2014). Object relations theories and psychopathology: A comprehensive text. Routledge.
