Fairbairn and Sutherland were radical psychoanalytic thinkers who deeply respected Freud's invention of psychoanalysis, but who disagreed with his idea that human infants are motivated by the need to discharge tension arising from sexual and aggressive instincts. Fairbairn argued on the contrary that what infants need is to be in a meaningful relationship, and Sutherland carried forward Fairbairn's thinking on the development of the person as a member of a social group.

International contributors set these psychoanalytic theorists in their philosophical and cultural context and discuss their acceptance in Germany and France. They re-examine Fairbairn and Sutherland's concepts in the light of current clinical experience, illuminate their concepts with contemporary psychoanalytic theories, and apply them in psychotherapy with children, adults, groups and families, and consultation to organisations.

This book will be valuable reading for all practicing and training psychotherapists and psychoanalysts. It summarizes theory, sets it in context, and illustrated the concepts with clinical examples.