Parents and Toddlers in Groups: A Psychoanalytic Developmental Approach - Softcover

"This book succeeds brilliantly at illustrating the enormous value of the psychoanalytic parent-toddler group model developed at the Anna Freud Centre and now adopted around the world. The vivid examples enrich our appreciation for the inner life of toddlers and their active efforts to make themselves understood. The authors teach by example, sharing their extraordinary knowledge of this tumultuous but exhilarating age through tactful interventions that expand our repertoire and stimulate our own creativity." – Alicia F. Lieberman, University of California, San Francisco, USA

"The coauthors have provided the reader with well-written pieces that are descriptive, wellreferenced, and cover a diversity of issues in the case studies. This book helps practitioners in early childhood learn, or remember, the importance of parent-child relationships and the long history of  Freud's emphasis on the importance of paying attention to how young children grow." - Sandra R. Wolkoff, North Shore Child and Family Guidance Center, NY

"Parents and Toddlers in Groups is refreshing, interesting and extremely engaging to read. The case studies are clear and illustrate the authors' careful consideration of context, the parents and toddlers needs and how best to adapt and modify the model to reach them and ensure that despite uncertainty or intrusion (people suddenly appearing in the group, toys damaged) the group space remains protected, welcoming and reflective for its members." - Elizabeth Murphy, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK

This book explores how psychoanalytic principles can be applied when working with parents and toddlers in groups. Illustrated with lively observations, it discusses how these parent-toddler groups can be an effective medium for early intervention during a period which is critical for the negotiation of a child’s central emotional issues.

Parents and Toddlers in Groups demonstrates the particular challenges of the toddler phase and its contribution to an individual’s future development and relationships. Focusing on an approach developed by the Anna Freud Centre and comprising chapters from a range of expert contributors, topics include:

• the history, theory and practice of parent-toddler groups at the Anna Freud Centre
• how this approach has been adapted and applied across a wide range of settings and cultures
• the findings of research projects carried out on parent-toddler groups.

This book will be a valuable resource for practitioners wanting to reach parents and young children in community, educational and a variety of other settings. It will also appeal to child psychotherapists and psychologists working in CAMHS teams.