The Progress of Object Relation Theory in Psychoanalysis

Based on the previous studies and the reconstruction of the theoretical development, this paper systematically analyzed the founding and the progress of the object relation theory, which constitutes an important branch of psychoanalysis. According to the theoretical connotation and the relationship with Melanie Klein, this paper introduced the progress of the object relation theory from three aspects, namely: the progress of object relations in the strict sense, the developments in the other directions of object relations, and the progress of object relations in the general sense. The representatives and their main ideas are introduced briefly in each part. Finally, a general analysis and discussion on the characteristics and the future trend of object relations are also discussed.