One of the eternal problems of mankind is that of love and hate. Why and how does it happen that we love this one of our fellow-men, feel safe in his affection, expect satisfactions of our needs from him and are attracted to him, while we hate and avoid other? Ever since the publication of Freud's first works one of the main objects of psycho-analytic research has been the study of these powerful currents of the human mind. The author contributed several important papers on this subject, and Primary Love and Psychoanalytic Technique is a collection of his material from 1930 to 1952. The first half of this volume is a collection of all his papers on this topic. The first, "Psycho-Sexual Parallels to the Fundamental Law of Biogenetics", is an attempt to trace the development of the erotic instincts from their earliest biological beginnings in unicellular organisms to their highest manifestations in human beings. Other papers deal with the problems of "Genital Love". "Transference of Emotions", of "Love and Hate" and so on.

Tavistock Press was established as a co-operative venture between the Tavistock Institute and Routledge & Kegan Paul (RKP) in the 1950s to produce a series of major contributions across the social sciences. This volume is part of a 2001 reissue of a selection of those important works which have since gone out of print, or are difficult to locate. Published by Routledge, 112 volumes in total are being brought together under the name The International Behavioural and Social Sciences Library: Classics from the Tavistock Press. Reproduced here in facsimile, this volume was originally published in 1965 and is available individually. The collection is also available in a number of themed mini-sets of between 5 and 13 volumes, or as a complete collection.

The work of Michael Balint, a leading object-relations theorist, has been neglected since his death in 1970. This book re-establishes his major contributions to psychoanalysis.

Introducing Psychoanalysis brings together leading analysts to explain what psychoanalysis is and how it has developed, providing a fascinating overview of the wide variety of psychoanalytic ideas that are current in Britain today.

When it was first published in 1968, Michael Balint's The Basic Fault laid the groundwork for a far-ranging reformation in psychoanalytic theory. This reformation is still incomplete, for it remains true today that despite the proliferation of techniques and schools, we do not know which are more correct or more successful--and all psychoanalysts continue to encounter intractable cases of mental disorder. Balint argues that ordinary "rigid" techniques and theories are doomed to failure in such cases because of their emphasis on interpretation. The Basic Fault continues to illuminate the crucial current issues in psychoanalysis and psychotherapy in general: the nature of self, the role of developmental defects, the value of empathy, and the central importance of the relationship between therapist and patient. This paperback edition includes a foreword by Paul H. Ornstein discussing the impact of Balint's work at the time of its publication and its continued importance now.

Whilst Michael Balint's applied work is widely known, many of his theoretical contributions have been incorporated into everyday analysis without due recognition of their source. In this account of his thinking, Harold Stewart evaluates the extent of Balint's contribution to psychoanalysis and firmly re-establishes his place within the development of Object Relations theory. The first section examines Balint's theories of human psychological development, defining such concepts as primary love, ocnophilia and philobatia, the basic fault and the three areas of the mind. The author places Balint's understanding of the analyst's influence and technique in the context of his relationship with Sandor Ferenczi, his analyst and mentor. The second section of this work looks at how the "Balint Group" has contributed to the assessment and understanding of emotional problems in various areas, including general practice, marital work and psychosexual medicine. A charismatic teacher, Balint's method of work with General Practitioners has become an established worldwide institution. Features of this work, including the use of countertransference and the affective response of the doctor are vividly described here by two General Practitioners, Andrew Elder and Robert Gosling. Michael Balint: Object Relations, Pure and Applied brings alive Balint's teaching and practice and demonstrates the relevance of his theories to many of the problematic issues in current analytic practice.