On the place of reality in social work and psychoanalytic theory

This article reviews the theoretical concepts involving reality as these were used in orthodox psychoanalytic theory and concludes that purely empiricist thinking of the type common in Freud's time has contributed to problems experienced within the social work profession. It proposes the consideration of a view of meaningful reality as constructed through interpersonal transactions based on the model of the transitional object. This model may hold promise for better understanding of the relationship between the person and the situation, of some aspects of the treatment relationship, and ways in which to measure treatment effectiveness.