Melanie Klein Revisited: Pioneer and Revolutionary in the Psychoanalysis of Young Children

While much writing has been devoted, predominantly by contemporary Kleinian adult psychoanalysts, to the Kleinian and post Kleinian development of Klein’s work, comparatively little has recently been written about the ongoing importance and character of Klein’s clinical work for contemporary psychoanalytic psychotherapy or analysis with very small children (2 – 6 year olds). Little attention now seems to be paid to the revolutionary character of her work from the start (in the early 1920s) with this age group and its challenges, still relevant today, or to her recognition of the importance of mother-infant relations in the period long before World War II brought investigation into and understanding of problems of attachment, separation and loss. This book addresses these issues and re-explores Klein’s work in these (and other) areas.

This book is concerned primarily with Klein’s work with pre-latency children and aims to give these small children more of the voice today that Melanie Klein herself discovered. Among important new sources are the treatment notes published in Claudia Frank’s seminal book Melanie Klein in Berlin (trans. 2009, Routledge), a rare exception to the current trend of publication for those interested in Klein’s child work.

This book is relevant to professionals working in a wide range of contexts from a range of professional bases, as well as child psychoanalytic psychotherapists and analysts. It will also be of interest to those concerned with the history and development of child psychoanalysis and especially those interested in Melanie Klein’s work in the UK and abroad.