Post-Kleinian work

Domain I · Psychodynamic & depth psychology · Donald Meltzer · 1967

What it is

Post-Kleinian work in Meltzer's line is an intensive psychoanalytic method that treats the analysis as an observable process with its own developmental logic, rather than a sequence of correct interpretations. The analyst observes the transference-countertransference as an unfolding event ("a…

Format

• Format. Individual analysis on the couch (adults) or in a playroom (children), fixed times, consistent room. Meltzer defined analysis by observation of the transference-countertransference rather than frequency, but considered fewer than three sessions a week problematic for adults. The 1967 model…
• Session and break cycles. Part II of the 1967 book has a chapter on "the cycle of the process in the individual sessions": each session, week (weekend break) and term (holiday break) recapitulates the larger sequence in miniature.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Does it use a device, heat, cold, water or a physical procedure? Has a medical professional checked that it is safe for you?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Ending brings mourning rather than manic flight or collapse.
• Over time your in-session responses come faster and more specific.
• Reactions to breaks become more reflective, and the patient can miss you.
• Confusional or perverse excitement lessens; gratitude for what is received appears.
• You regain your own mind within the session; the patient's projection becomes thinkable.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.