Can We Leave the Past Behind?

Can We Leave The Past Behind?


Within this essay I will be looking at whether we can truly leave our pasts behind or whether they remain a part of us within our present and future. My own belief is that our past is what makes us who we are today. Our experiences from childhood through to adulthood make up our coping mechanisms for future situations and even if we have dealt with issues that may arise they will still remain in our conscious and unconscious minds. Looking at the theories of Melanie Klein in Object Relations and the theory of Erik Erikson and the developmental stages we go through within our lives I aim to evaluate with my answer based on what I have learnt and understood.

Looking at the theories relating to this I will look at The Psychoanalytic approach of Sigmund Freud which is still very much used to date. However some of his followers went on to further expand his beliefs and came up with their own. One such person was Melanie Klein, who came up with Object Relations Theory. She removed the emphasis of the biological drives such as the sexual and aggressive tendencies and stressed the importance of interpersonal relationships one has with another. Melanie Klein also looked at the mother and child relationship and the early relationships the child has, primarily being family members, as the importance of the mother/child relationship and the way the child was parented would affect the adult in later life. Object Relations Theory holds the belief that we are relationship seeking individuals rather than pleasure seeking as Freud suggested, and this can be useful for exploring the clients past and any issues they have with intimacy or dependency and identity. The “object” being a person or an actual object that is significant to the individual and is where they target their feelings and intentions. The “relations” is the relationship and residues of the individuals past. Objects can be associated with good and bad, good objects fulfilling...