Psychological Birth of the Human Infant

Margaret Schonberger Mahler (May 10, 1897 - October 2, 1985) was a Hungarian physician, who later became interested in psychiatry. She was a central figure on the world stage of psychoanalysis. Her main interest was in normal childhood development, but she spent much of her time with psychiatric children and how they arrive at the "self." Mahler developed the separation-individuation theory of child development.

The biological birth of the human infant and the psychological birth of the individual are not coincident in time. The former is a dramatic, observable, and well-circumscribed event; the latter a slowly unfolding intra psychic process.Thus begins this highly acclaimed book in which Margaret S. Mahler and her collaborators break new ground in developmental psychology and present the first complete theoretical statement of Dr. Mahler's observations on the normal separation-individuation process.Separation and individuation are presented in this major work as two complementary developments. Separation is described as the child's emergence from a symbiotic fusion with the mother, while individuation consists of those achievements making the child's assumption of his own individual characteristics. Each of the sub-phases of separation-individuation is described in detail, supported by a wealth of clinical observations which trace the tasks confronting the infant and his mother as he progresses towards achieving his own individuality.A number of chapters are devoted to following five children epigenetically through their sub phase development. A separate section describes the authors' methodology, the importance of the research setting, and the effects of changes in the setting. The extensive appendices by Fred Pine discuss the uniqueness of the data-gathering techniques used by the author. In addition, a useful glossary of concepts defines the new terms that Dr. Mahler has introduced.This book represents an important breakthrough in understanding the human infant and makes a unique contribution to the science of human behavior.

• Titles of Related Interest -- Introduction and Historical Review -- Separation-Individuation in Perspective -- Overview -- Evolution and Functioning of the Research Setting -- On Human Symbiosis and the Subphases of the Separation-Individuation Process -- Introduction -- The Forerunners of the Separation-Individuation Process -- The First Subphase: Differentiation and the Development of the Body Image -- The Second Subphase: Practicing -- The Third Subphase: Rapprochement -- The Fourth Subphase: Consolidation of Individuality and the Beginnings of Emotional Object Constancy -- Five Children's Subphase Development -- Introduction -- Bruce -- Donna -- Wendy -- Teddy -- Sam -- Summary and Reflections -- Variations Within the Subphases with Special Reference to Differentiation -- The Epigenesis of Separation Anxiety, Basic Mood, and Primitive Identity -- Reflections on Core Identity and Self-Boundary Formation -- Some Concluding Remarks about the Significance of the Rapprochement Crisis -- The Data Analysis and Its Rationale: A Case Study in Systematic Clinical Research -- The Available Data -- A Research Rationale -- Some Research Strategies