The Relational Foundation of Effective Therapeutic Work: Insights from Object Relations theory

The workshop explores the relational foundation of effective clinical practice through the lens of object relations theory, with particular attention to the contributions of Heinz Kohut and Donald Winnicott. Contemporary psychotherapy increasingly recognizes that healing occurs not primarily through technique but through the quality of the therapeutic relationship itself. Drawing on Kohut's self psychology and Winnicott's theories of holding, the true self, and facilitating environment, this workshop examines how clinicians become emotionally and relational engaged participants in the client's psychological development and repair.