Andrew Balfour – författare

This book is a challenge to the silos in our human services that an ‘atomised’ focus gives rise to. They are evident in the chasm that can exist between child and adult mental health care, between competing therapeutic approaches and, most importantly for this volume, in the segmentation of support for adults who are partners as well as parents.

The contributors, all with substantial experience of providing front-line services, identify the problem their intervention is designed to address, provide a conceptual justification for the approach they have used and supply evidence for its effectiveness. Vivid illustrations bring the work to life and provide examples of best practice whose relevance can readily be transported to different settings. Unusual in bringing together approaches that encompass internal and external realities in responding to the challenges of physical constraint, emotional distress and an often-volatile social environment, the contributions are assembled to highlight a common thread that can inform services at different stages of the life course. Each chapter is accompanied by a commentary from specialists in their field who elucidate and critique the key points made by the authors and help the experience of reading the book to be one of dialogue.

Engaging Couples: New Directions in Therapeutic in Work with Families explores new ways of approaching some of the key issues of contemporary family life, including depression, living with long-term conditions, inter-parental conflict and domestic abuse to name but a few, refracting them through a lens that sees our relationships as fundamental to the fabric of our lives – the most important social capital of all.

It represents essential reading for clinicians and family practitioners of all persuasions, and those that train and support them in their work.

This book is a challenge to the silos in our human services that an ‘atomised’ focus gives rise to. They are evident in the chasm that can exist between child and adult mental health care, between competing therapeutic approaches and, most importantly for this volume, in the segmentation of support for adults who are partners as well as parents.

The contributors, all with substantial experience of providing front-line services, identify the problem their intervention is designed to address, provide a conceptual justification for the approach they have used and supply evidence for its effectiveness. Vivid illustrations bring the work to life and provide examples of best practice whose relevance can readily be transported to different settings. Unusual in bringing together approaches that encompass internal and external realities in responding to the challenges of physical constraint, emotional distress and an often-volatile social environment, the contributions are assembled to highlight a common thread that can inform services at different stages of the life course. Each chapter is accompanied by a commentary from specialists in their field who elucidate and critique the key points made by the authors and help the experience of reading the book to be one of dialogue.

Engaging Couples: New Directions in Therapeutic in Work with Families explores new ways of approaching some of the key issues of contemporary family life, including depression, living with long-term conditions, inter-parental conflict and domestic abuse to name but a few, refracting them through a lens that sees our relationships as fundamental to the fabric of our lives – the most important social capital of all.

It represents essential reading for clinicians and family practitioners of all persuasions, and those that train and support them in their work.

Life and Death considers ageing and mortality from a psychoanalytic perspective and from the point of view of the individual, the couple, and the family.

Andrew Balfour’s approach focuses on understanding the challenges of late life and what might help us to continue to live our lives, and inhabit our relationships, as creatively as possible. The book grounds a psychoanalytic approach to understanding later life as a key point of developmental challenge for us all, through closely written accounts of the experiences of older people, as well as wider social-contextual issues. It locates itself at the interface of internal and external realities, exploring the lived experience of some of the most difficult things we can face in old age, such as dementia and other age-related illnesses and losses.

Life and Death will be of interest to psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, counsellors, and psychologists in practice and in training. It will also appeal to the general reader interested in ageing and the challenges of late life.

Life and Death considers ageing and mortality from a psychoanalytic perspective and from the point of view of the individual, the couple, and the family.

Andrew Balfour’s approach focuses on understanding the challenges of late life and what might help us to continue to live our lives, and inhabit our relationships, as creatively as possible. The book grounds a psychoanalytic approach to understanding later life as a key point of developmental challenge for us all, through closely written accounts of the experiences of older people, as well as wider social-contextual issues. It locates itself at the interface of internal and external realities, exploring the lived experience of some of the most difficult things we can face in old age, such as dementia and other age-related illnesses and losses.

Life and Death will be of interest to psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, counsellors, and psychologists in practice and in training. It will also appeal to the general reader interested in ageing and the challenges of late life.