Growing Up

Henri Parens, MD, is professor of psychiatry at Jefferson Medical College and training and supervising analyst at the Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia.Salman Akhtar, MD, is professor of psychiatry at Jefferson Medical College and training and supervising analyst at the Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia.

Growing Up: Revisiting Child Development Theories and their Application to Patients of all Ages is a veritable treasure trove of the history of psychoanalytic perspectives on development. The contributors to this edited collection demonstrate the value of Margaret Mahler’s separation-individuation theory, including the integration of attachment theory, trauma theory, and intersubjectivity of Mahler’s object relations theory.

• Chapter OneOur Understanding of Child Development: An Introductory OverviewSalman AkhtarChapter TwoOn the Road to Object ConstancyHarold BlumChapter ThreeYou Can’t Have Self Without the OtherJohn M. RossChapter FourSeparation-Individuation Theory 50 Years LaterHenri ParensChapter Five“Oneness with Other(s)” and Its Reverberations throughout LifeWendy OleskerChapter SixTalking with the Wall: On Intersubjectivity, Trauma, and Neurodevelopmental Disorder in the Parent-Child RelationshipDaniel SchechterChapter SevenIntersubjectivity and Intergenerational Transfer of TraumaSusan CoatesChapter EightWhere in the World Did Mahler’s Separation-Individuation Theory Go?: A Concluding CommentaryAnn G. Smolen