The indivisibility of Freudian object relations and drive theories

The term "object relations theory" has little meaning unless placed in a context. Left unmodified, it applies to a variety of contradictory theories, many of which leave out or diminish other metapsychological points of view. This paper utilizes an account of an "ordinary" analysand's life and treatment as a context for the close examination of one session, also "ordinary," and undramatic, in order to demonstrate by example the usefulness of the psychoanalytic theory of drives in indivisible relationship with the psychoanalytic theory of object relations which, in turn, are related to all of the other metapsychological points of view.