Relational Trauma in Infancy

"For all those trying to address serious difficulties in early parent-infant relationships, this book will be an invaluable and timely resource. It is a work of impressive contemporary scholarship and brings a wealth of clinical experience and authority to this vitally important arena."- Peter Toolan, The Maudsley Perinatal Psychotherapy Service, London, UK

"Sensitive and creative research and clinical papers contribute to an interdisciplinary exploration of the biological, psychological and social consequences of trauma on infant development and to extensive consideration of various modes of intervention, making this volume of value to both developmental investigators and clinicians"-Sidney J. Blatt, Professor, Psychiatry and Psychology, Yale University, USA, and author of Polarities of Experience: Relatedness and Self-definition in Personality Development, Psychopathology and the Therapeutic Process

"In an era characterized by marked progress in our understanding of the neurobiological substrates and processes underpinning parenting, early development and the sequelae of early adversity in particular, clinicians working with infants and parents all the more feel the need for the translation of these basic research findings to their clinical practice. This book provides a superb attempt to bridge this gap. It provides a compelling case for the value of a relational approach to the study and treatment of parents and infants struggling with the consequences of early adversity, and in breaking the vicious cycle of trauma across the generations. This book goes far beyond simple models of trauma and their impact on later development. It effectively paints a much more complex picture of the consequences of early disruptive experiences, and their effects on child development and parenting. Central in this volume is the focus on the mind of mothers and infants, that is how mothers and infants co-create their internal and external worlds, often in maladaptive and distorted ways, and how this co-creation can be changed as a result of parent-infant interventions. As yet few carefully documented psychodynamic case studies are available in this context. This volume, written by leading experts in the field of parent-infant therapy, therefore promises to be a leading source of information for both clinicians and researchers involved in parent-infant work for years to come." -Patrick Luyten, Department of Psychology, University of Leuven, Belgium

"The book makes for a good scholarly read and reflects the high standard of theoretical and clinical work of the Anna Freud Centre."- Hessel Willemsen, Journal of Analytical Psychology, Volume 56, 2011