Object Relational Understanding of Behavior in the Therapeutic Milieu Applications to Functional Behavior Assessments and Behavior Intervention Plans

Evolution of the Object Relations Perspective In the beginning…There was Freud In the beginning…There was Freud Deep divisions created psychoanalytic theory Deep divisions created psychoanalytic theory Deep divisions over time created a psychodynamic perspective Deep divisions over time created a psychodynamic perspective Today there are two main theories that support this paradigm Today there are two main theories that support this paradigm Self psychology and object relations psychology Self psychology and object relations psychology

Foundations of Object Relational Theory John Bowlby John Bowlby Attachment Theory Attachment Theory Mary Ainsworth Mary Ainsworth The Strange Situation The Strange Situation Categories of Attachment: Categories of Attachment: Secure Secure Anxious Attachment: Ambivalent Attachment Anxious Attachment: Ambivalent Attachment Anxious Attachment: Avoidant Attachment Anxious Attachment: Avoidant Attachment Disorganized Attachment Disorganized Attachment

Object Relational Theoretical Assumptions People have an innate, inherited, biologically determined need to connect with other people People have an innate, inherited, biologically determined need to connect with other people The first primary relationship through infancy, early childhood and childhood set the foundation for the affective tone of future relationships –what to expect from relationships, what affective tone dominates relational connections The first primary relationship through infancy, early childhood and childhood set the foundation for the affective tone of future relationships –what to expect from relationships, what affective tone dominates relational connections The attachment relationship is an external, observable and measurable relationship in terms of quality and that relationship creates an internal world – the relationship is internalized The attachment relationship is an external, observable and measurable relationship in terms of quality and that relationship creates an internal world – the relationship is internalized

Object Relations in the Therapeutic Milieu Our relational history manifests itself interpersonally Our intimate relationships become a script for our relational inheritance Problematic aspects of our interpersonal relationships reflect deficits, toxicity, unresolved loss, unrequited longings from our own attachment histories Acting out behavior can be understood as a way to communicate what has gone wrong for us relationally