At this distance, it is hard to understand exactly what was so shocking when Melanie Klein introduced her concept of envy in July 1955. Discussion centred around the question of whether envy was 'innate', whether it was simply a reaction to bad experiences or whether it could arise even in good circumstances. However, the differences between Klein and her audience went deeper.

Her ideas were a direct challenge to those who observed the same behaviour and thoughts but interpreted them differently. Some of these disagreements are still alive today. This paper explores penis envy, womb envy and Klein's ideas about a more general envy directed against all creativity, which can have far-reaching effects, not only in the consulting room but also in everyday life.

I will briefly review the historical relationship between John Bowlby and Melanie Klein, his supervisor, and how Klein's work with children led Bowlby to explore attachment and loss. I will present a relational / attachment way of re-framing Klein's innate theory. I will then present clinical material illustrating how envy appears in the consulting room with particular emphasis on two kinds of envy - British and American.

There is a close relationship between envy, resentment and a sense of grievance. The state of mind engendered by this unholy trinity of emotions necessarily undermines the establishment of a good therapeutic alliance. In some instances, a therapeutic impasse may be brought about by the powerful operation of envy and/or defenses against envy.

This state of affairs will be illustrated through extracts from Maggie's clinical work with two patients, 'Ellen May' and 'Belinda'. Options available to the therapist in this situation and their potential benefits and limitations will be identified and discussed. Practitioners attending this session are invited to bring along illustrative material from their own clinical work.

This presentation will be an exploration on how envy presents in the couple and how this manifests in the therapy room in psychoanalytic psychotherapy with couples. Is it possible, and how would it be managed, for a couple to move from envious attack to guilt and, finally, reparation? Drawing on examples from literature and clinical vignettes, we will think about how envy attacks the health of an intimate relationship, how this can be worked with and reparation achieved.

In psychoanalysis the concept of envy describes a specific defense within an object relational structure that denies the subjectivity, need and entitlement of the other and is the antithesis of gratitude and satisfaction. Yet how far is envy both a representation of a psychological structure which is pathological and a culturally generated phenomenon?

Should we not take into account the cultural forces that amplify envy when considering the pathology of our 'envious' clients? With reference to social and political dynamics and case material, we will consider whether envy is as much a social disease as a psychopathology that requires psychotherapeutic treatment.

From the infant who may turn away in envy from the breast, to the older person who cannot bear to witness the happiness of youth, envy is a problem throughout the life cycle. It is something we all have to deal with, but in some cases it can be crippling. I shall explore how it is that envy can get such a relentless grip that it strangles the capacity for appreciation and enjoyment or indeed for sanity itself.

This in turn affects the individual's capacity to manage the vicissitudes of life. I describe how the place of envy from infancy and childhood to adulthood and later life can manifest itself in the transference in clinical work.

In this presentation I shall provide clinical material supporting my thesis that underlying both male and female perversions is an unconscious, symbolic envious attack against mother's body and the procreative process. I shall use observations from my clinical work at the Portman Clinic to conceptualize and recognize the existence of female perversions that occur in relation to the function of motherhood (Welldon, 1988). I shall also bring to our attention the recent work by a British feminist academic on matricide with a new approach to the Oresteia myth to facilitate and support my own theoretical stance in relation to gender, sexuality and perversion.

Luise Eichenbaum and Susie Orbach co-founded The Women's Therapy Centre in London and New York. They have written extensively about women's psychology and clinical issues working with women. Their 1988 book, Bittersweet, explored the themes of envy, competition and anger between women, proposing new ways to understand these painful emotional states. Twenty years on, they will discuss their theory on envy and how it plays out in women's lives and the clinical situation.

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