Developmental Science And Psychoanalysis

As a discipline, psychoanalysis began at the interface of mind and brain and has always been about those most basic questions of biology and psychology: loving, hating, what brings us together as lovers, parents, and friends and what pulls us apart in conflict and hatred. These are the enduring mysteries of life and especially of early development-how young children learn the language of the social world with its intertwined biological, genetic, and experiential roots and how infants translate thousands of intimate moments with their parents into a genuine, intuitive, emotional connection to other persons. Basic developmental neuroscience and psychology has also of late turned to these basic questions of affiliation: of how it is that as humans our most basic concerns are about finding, establishing, preserving, and mourning our relationships. These areas in broad strokes are the substance of mind and brain, and the last decade has brought much new science to the biology of attachment, love, and aggression.

"As a discipline, psychoanalysis began at the interface of mind and brain and has always been about those most basic questions of biology and psychology: loving, hating, what brings us together as lovers, parents, and friends and what pulls us apart in conflict and hatred.These are the enduring mysteries of life and especially of early development-how young children learn the language of the social world with its intertwined biological, genetic, and experiential roots and how infants translate thousands of intimate moments with their parents into a genuine, intuitive, emotional connection to other persons. Basic developmental neuroscience and psychology has also of late turned to these basic questions of affiliation: of how it is that as humans our most basic concerns are about finding, establishing, preserving, and mourning our relationships. These areas in broad strokes are the substance of mind and brain, and the last decade has brought much new science to the biology of attachment, love, and aggression. These are areas that practicing psychoanalysts have long been immersed in and have much to say about - and contemporary neuroscientists and developmentalists are recognizing the importance of understanding these basic issues at a deeper, and more subjective experiential level. The challenges before us are how to facilitate open discourse and collaborations among these perspectives and practitioners that often work at very different levels of discourse. This volume is not only a first step in that process but also, through the themes of the chapters and the pairing of discussants, a beginning illustration of how the cross-disciplinary discourse might work."--Provided by publisher.

This important new book presents a comprehensive integration of psychoanalytic theories of human development from Freud to the present, showing their implications for the evaluation and treatment of children and adults. Phyllis Tyson and Robert L. Tyson not only review the literature on emotional growth but also provide a developmental theory of their own, one that examines psychosexual development in the context of a number of other simultaneously evolving systems--emotional, behavioral, cognitive, and social--all of which work in relation to one another in a dynamic way. The authors describe the developmental sequences of these systems and how they coalesce to form the human personality. The Tysons view development as it occurs rather than retrospectively from reconstructions of earlier life experience. They begin by tracing the history of this perspective, describing the developmental process, then critically reviewing psychoanalytic theories of development. The authors present developmental sequences for psychosexuality, object relations, the sense of self, affect, cognition, the superego, gender identity, and the ego. Throughout they maintain a central and orienting focus on the intrapsychic--on what happens in the mind as it evolves. In contrast to recent psychoanalytic emphases on interpersonal aspects of early development, they view perceived and felt interpersonal interactions as working in conjunction with innate factors to provide the basis for the internal world. According to the Tysons, it is the evolution and elaboration of this internal world that is the domain of psychoanalytic theory of development.

Developmental Perspectives in Child Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy incorporates recent innovations in developmental theory and research into our understanding of the nature of change in child psychotherapy. Diverse psychoanalytic ideas and individual styles are represented, challenging the historical allegiance in analytic child therapy to particular, and so often singular, schools of thought. Each of the distinguished contributors offers a conceptually grounded and clinically rich account of child development, addressing topics such as refl ective functioning, the role of play, dreaming, trauma and neglect, the development of recognition and mutuality, autism, adoption, and non- binary conceptions of gender. Extended clinical vignettes offer the reader clear vision into the convergence of theory and practice, demonstrating the potential of psychoanalytic psychotherapy to move child development forward. This book will appeal to all practicing mental health professionals.

A practical distillation of cutting-edge developmental research for mental health professionals. The field commonly known as "infant mental health" integrates current research from developmental psychology, genetics, and neuroscience to form a model of prevention, intervention, and treatment well beyond infancy. This book presents the core concepts of this vibrant field and applies them to common childhood problems, from attention deficits to anxiety and sleep disorders. Readers will find a friendly guide that distills this developmental science into key ideas and clinical scenarios that practitioners can make sense of and use in their day-to-day work. Part I offers an overview of the major areas of research and theory, providing a pragmatic knowledge base to comfortably integrate the principles of this expansive field in clinical practice. It reviews the newest science, exploring the way relationships change the brain, breakthrough attachment theory, epigenetics, the polyvagal theory of emotional development, the role of stress response systems, and many other illuminating concepts. Part II then guides the reader through the remarkable applications of these concepts in clinical work. Chapters address how to take a textured early developmental history, navigate the complexity of postpartum depression, address the impact of trauma and loss on children's emotional and behavioral problems, treat sleep problems through an infant mental health lens, and synthesize tools from the science of the developing mind in the treatment of specific problems of regulation of emotion, behavior, and attention. Fundamental knowledge of the science of early brain development is deeply relevant to mental health care throughout a client's lifespan. In an era when new research is illuminating so much, mental health practitioners have much to gain by learning this leading-edge discipline's essential applications. This book makes those applications, and their robust benefits in work with clients, readily available to any professional.

Emotional Development in Psychoanalysis, Attachment Theory and Neuroscience is a multi-disciplinary overview of psychological and emotional development, from infancy through to adulthood. Uniquely, it integrates research and concepts from psychology and neurophysiology with psychoanalytic thinking, providing an unusually rich and balanced perspective on the subject. Written by leaders in their field, the chapters cover: * biological and neurological factors in the unconscious and memory * the link between genetics and attachment * the early relationship and the growth of emotional life * the importance of a developmental framework to inform psychoanalytic work * clinical work Drawing on a wide range of detailed case studies with subjects across childhood and adolescence, this book provides a ground-breaking insight into how very different schools of thought can work together to achieve clinical success in work with particularly difficult young patients. Emotional Development in Psychoanalysis, Attachment Theory and Neuroscience represents the latest knowledge beneficial to child psychiatrists and child psychotherapists, as well as social workers, psychologists, health visitors and specialist teachers.

This book exemplifies a special kind of application of psychoanalysis. It shows how the child uses the analyst both as a transference object and as a new developmental object, illustrating the mutually enabling and inextricably interwoven nature of developmental work and interpretation of conflict.