Full course description
Melanie Klein: theory and Practice
This course is offered fully online
takes Place on 9/14, 10/5, 10/26, 11/16, 12/7, 1/4, 1/25, 2/15, 3/8, and 3/29 from 6:30pm-8:00pm ET
Presenter:
Jason Jones, MD, is a psychiatrist at McLean Hospital in Belmont, MA, on staff at both the Gunderson Outpatient Program and the Clinical Evaluation Center. He specializes in psychodynamic individual and family therapy with patients with personality disorders. He is a graduate of Tulane Medical School, Harvard University’s Residency in Psychiatry at Cambridge Hospital, and Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute’s Advanced Training Program in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. He also completed a fellowship in Intensive Psychotherapy at the Austen Riggs Center in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. He has taught courses on Winnicott and Fairbairn at Boston Psychoanalytic Institute several times and he taught Winnicott at Boston College in the fall of 2025.
Description:
The Great War of 1914-18 and the death of his pregnant daughter from influenza compelled Sigmund Freud to consider a dark side of human nature. The “unconcealed brutality of [the] time” suggested to Freud that people have a “Death Drive,” and that aggression is part of our human condition. Melanie Klein was a Viennese child therapist that trained in psychoanalysis in Berlin before she immigrated to London, where she developed a large following in the 1940s and 50s. Her ideas remain enormously influential. More than any other psychoanalytic theoretician, Klein takes up the subjects of aggression, hate, envy and greed. Her conception of the paranoid-schizoid position leads to an intense consideration of splitting and projective identification, useful ideas in the treatment of personality-disordered patients. As dark as it might appear, Klein’s psychology is ultimately optimistic in that it posits an important, healthy role for aggression in development. More than any other psychoanalytic theoretician, Klein takes up the darker side of human nature, including aggression, hate, envy and greed.
Learning Objectives:
Week 1: Explain what Melanie Klein means by “Object.” Recognize the roots of Melanie Klein’s ideas in those of Freud and Abraham. Discuss Melanie Klein’s biography and its relationship to her theories.
Week 2: Explain what Melanie Klein and Hannah Segal mean by “Symbol” Discuss the connection between Symbols and thinking Identify the role of Symbols in interpersonal functioning.
Week 3: Explain what Melanie Klein and Susan Isaacs mean by Phantasy. Differentiate between a Phantasy and a Fantasy. Discuss how unconscious Phantasies impact interpersonal behaviors.
Week 4: Explain what Melanie Klein means by the Paranoid-Schizoid position. Describe characteristics of the mind in the Paranoid-Schizoid position. Identify how Paranoid-Schizoid functioning continues into and impacts adult behavior.
Week 5: Explain what Melanie Klein means by Projective Identification. Describe how Projective Identification might operate between two people. Employ the idea of Projective Identification in the understanding of Borderline Personality Disorder.
Week 6: Explain what Melanie Klein means by the Depressive Position. Differentiate between Paranoid-Schizoid functioning versus Depressive functioning. Identify how Depressive functioning is more mature than Paranoid-Schizoid functioning.
Week 7: Explain what Melanie Klein means by Transference. Differentiate between Melanie Klein’s ideas about Transference versus those of her predecessors. Express how the idea of Transference can be used in therapy.
Week 8: Explain Joan Riviere’s understanding of human hate, greed, and aggression. Identify how Kleinians regard hate and aggression as potentially healthy phenomena. Recognize how greed is a particular manifestation of aggression.
Week 9: Explain Melanie Klein’s understanding of Envy and Gratitude. Express how Melanie Klein’s Gratitude functions as reparation following periods of aggression. Differentiate between Envy and Jealousy.
Week 10: Explain how Melanie Klein’s theories are used in therapy. Identify examples of Kleinian theory in case formulations. Recognize how Kleinian transference interpretations are perhaps the sine qua non of effective therapy.
Timeline and Requirements:
This course takes place on zoom from 6:30pm to 8:00pm on 9/14, 10/5, 10/26, 11/16, 12/7, 1/4, 1/25, 2/15, 3/8, and 3/29.
CE Sponsorship:
Pending approval
Fees and Policies:
Payment is due by credit card at registration. Refunds will be granted only up until registration closes at 5pm on September 14th. No refunds will be granted for errors on the participant's part (such as incorrect name/email upon registration, login failure, scheduling conflicts, etc.).
We strive to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals to engage fully. If you need to request an accommodation or ask a question about accessibility, please contact wcas.cece@bc.edu.
Additional offerings from the Woods College Office of Continuing Education and Community Engagement can be found on our website.