melanie klein trust

Esther Bick (1902-1983) was interested in very early infantile states and the relationship between babies and their primary carers and discovered the potential of infant observation to underpin the growth of a psychoanalytic perspective within the observer.

Wilfred Bion (1897-1979) is best known for the work stemming from his psychoanalysis of patients in psychotic states, by building on and expanding Klein’s concepts of projective identification and the two positions, paranoid-schizoid and depressive, in dynamic equilibrium, and by introducing the notion of Container-Contained.

Ron Britton's work could be described as a missing link refound, not only between Freud and Klein, but between art and science, where imagination and search for truth are central.

Robert Caper is one of a small number of American psychoanalysts who have made original contributions to Kleinian theory.

Betty Joseph (1917-2013) was a training and supervising analyst and child analyst in the British Psychoanalytical Society. She was one of the leading Kleinian thinkers of her generation along with Bion, Rosenfeld and Hanna Segal and an inspiring presence in the British Society for over 60 years. She was very influenced by Bion whose originality and vision always impressed her. 

Donald Meltzer's (1922-2004) most widely used psychoanalytic contributions are his theories of an intrusive form of projective identification, of autistic two-dimensionality and of what he termed the ‘aesthetic conflict’ at the start of life.

Recognition that the mind is conceptualised spatially was central to the approach taken by Henri Rey (1912-2000). He described how many patients feel prematurely pushed out of the maternal space, before they are ready to face the facts of life. Often an intermediate space is created within the mother’s care, but m any disturbed patients are unable to find an area of safety.

Ruth Riesenberg-Malcolm was an influential member of the group of senior Kleinian psychoanalysts who developed the application of the theories of Melanie Klein and Wilfred Bion. Her collected papers, On Bearing Unbearable States of Mind, is a handbook of Kleinian clinical practice, illustrating how to understand and put these theories to use.

Herbert Rosenfeld (1910-1986), alongside Segal and Bion, made several post-Kleinian innovations in his clinical and theoretical contributions, drawing on the rich lessons from his experience of treating schizophrenic patients.

Hanna Segal (1918-2011) was particularly interested in exploring the intricate relationship between creative and psychotic functioning. In the socio-political realm she further explored and clarified the relationship between sane and psychotic forces in relation to nuclear proliferation, war and the symbolic significance and psychological impact of September 11.

Edna O'Shaughnessy's extensive bibliography includes works on the development of concepts relating to defensive organisations of the personality and the abnormal superego.

The work of Dr Leslie Sohn (1919-2013) revolutionised the way of thinking about and understanding violent behaviour in mentally disordered offenders and in particular, those suffering from psychotic illnesses.

Elizabeth Spillius is one of the world’s foremost Klein scholars. She is admired for her clinical work, her teaching in the UK and abroad, her work in the Klein archive, and for the wealth of books and papers she has produced over many years.

John Steiner’s clear style of writing, emerging from observations made in his clinical practice, provides depth of insight, sensitivity and a real interest and concern for his patients.