The growth of psychoanalytic developmental psychology and the application of technique

The growth of ego psychology theory from Freud to the present has stimulated interest in the development of special techniques of a psychotherapy based on that theory—techniques that have evolved from but are different than those of psychoanalysis proper. Modifications in technical procedures address themselves to developmental failures rather than the resolution of the oedipal conflict. The newer concept of the borderline diagnostic category is understood in terms of the contributions of Kernberg and the Blancks, particularly as it is integrated with Mahler's developmental theory. Clinical examples are presented of some specific techniques of what is now called psychoanalytic developmental psychology.