The contents of the three volumes are grouped not chronologically but
under the headings of 'Personality and Family Structure', 'Philosophy
and History of Psychoanalysis', and 'The Psychoanalytic Process and the
Analyst'. Together they present his interpretation of the 'Kleinian
development' from Freud, through Abraham and Klein, to Bion and the
post-Kleinian model; and within this evolution, his view of the natural
history of the psychoanalytic process, the aesthetics of the method, and
his insights into the operation of the transference and
countertransference. Meltzer saw the psychoanalytic process as a new
method that contributes alongside more traditional art-forms to our
scientific knowledge of the mind. Working with both adults and children,
he viewed psychoanalysis in developmental rather than narrowly
therapeutic terms, with potential for both analyst and analysand. All
his theories derived from clinical work, above all from dream-reading
and children's phantasy play; and owing to his extensive international
teaching experience, his own material was enriched by that of many
supervisees. This collection of papers, read as a whole, invites new
readers to follow and partake in what he called 'the most interesting
conversation in the world'.
