The Practice of Psychoanalytic Parent-Infant Psychotherapy: Claiming the Baby

This comprehensive handbook addresses the provision of therapeutic help for babies and their parents when their attachment relationship is derailed and a risk is posed to the baby's development. Drawing on clinical and research data from the biological and psychological sciences, this book presents a treatment approach that is comprehensive, flexible and sophisticated, whilst also being clear and easy to understand. The first section, The Theory of Parent Infant Psychotherapy, offers the reader a theoretical framework for understanding the emotional-interactional environment within which infant development takes place. It draws upon psychoanalysis, attachment and developmental research to describe how babies’ minds and development are sculpted by the dynamics of the relationship with their primary love figures. The second section, The Therapeutic Process, invites the reader into the consulting room to participate in a detailed examination of the relational process in the clinical encounter. The third section, Clinical Papers, provides case material to illustrate the unfolding of the therapeutic process. Written by a team of experienced clinicians, writers, teachers and researchers in the field of infant development and psychopathology, The Practice of Psychoanalytic Parent-Infant Psychotherapy, is unique in its systematic approach to describing the theoretical rationale and clinical process of therapy. It will be of great interest to all professionals working with children and their families, including child psychiatrists, psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, and clinical and developmental psychologists.