Pioneers in Object Relations Clinical Thinking:
Melanie Klein (1882-1960)

With these quotes from Melanie Klein’s thinking and writings, we celebrate her birthday on March 30th:

One of the many interesting and surprising experiences of the beginner in child analysis is to find in even very young children a capacity for insight which is often far greater than that of adults.

Melanie Klein

I believe that the ego is incapable of splitting the object – internal and external – without a corresponding splitting taking place within the ego.

Melanie Klein

My psycho-analytic work has convinced me that when in the baby’s mind the conflicts between love and hate arise, and the fears of losing the loved one become active, a very important step is made in development.

Melanie Klein

It is an essential part of the interpretive work that it should keep in step with fluctuations between love and hatred, between happiness and satisfaction on the one hand and persecutory anxiety and depression on the other.

Melanie Klein

One of the many interesting and surprising experiences of the beginner in child analysis is to find in even very young children a capacity for insight which is often far greater than that of adults.

Melanie Klein

Feelings of love and gratitude arise directly and spontaneously in the baby in response to the love and care of his mother.

Melanie Klein

The root of creativity is found in the need to repair the good object destroyed during the depressive phase.

Melanie Klein

The highly ambitious person, in spite of all his successes, always remains dissatisfied, in the same way as a greedy baby is never satisfied.

Melanie Klein

God has put something noble and good into every heart his hand has created. So while living on earth we must always remember to learn from yesterday, live for today, and hope for tomorrow because time will only show what has mattered throughout our journey.

Melanie Klein

It is an essential part of the interpretive work that it should keep in step with fluctuations between love and hatred, between happiness and satisfaction on the one hand and persecutory anxiety and depression on the other.

Melanie Klein

It is characteristic of the emotions of the very young infant that they are of an extreme and powerful nature.

Melanie Klein

Feminism freed my mind. Yoga freed my body. It’s one thing to intellectualize self-love and another to embody it.

Melanie Klein

Love is not just admiration for strength, it is also tolerance for weakness.

Melanie Klein

My psycho-analytic work has convinced me that when in the baby’s mind the conflicts between love and hate arise, and the fears of losing the loved one become active, a very important step is made in development.

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