Unlock the Secrets of Normal Child and Adolescent Development: A Psychodynamic Primer

Written by renowned authors Dr. Karen J. Gilmore and Dr. Paul M. Meersand, this comprehensive guide presents a complete picture of mental development, informed by contemporary research and psychodynamic thinking.

With over a decade of experience teaching human development to psychiatric residents, psychology doctoral students, and psychoanalytic candidates, the authors identified an acute need for accessible material that integrates recent findings in psychodynamic literature and psychology research. This book is their response, offering a unique and compelling approach to understanding normal child and adolescent development.

A Dynamic Interaction of Mind, Body, and Environment

The authors explore the dynamic interaction between the growing mind (including the unconscious mind), the maturing body, and the evolving demands of the environment. This multisystem approach sheds light on the complexity and diversity of human development, making it an invaluable resource for students and practitioners in psychiatry, psychology, and psychoanalysis.

Accessible and Engaging Content

The book is beautifully written, making it a pleasure to read. Clinical vignettes are vivid narratives that bring the child at different stages to life, making them recognizable and memorable. Additionally, online video illustrations reinforce key characteristics at each phase of normal development, providing a multimedia learning experience.

A Clear Framework for Developmental Thinking

The authors begin with an introduction to the book’s theoretical orientation and conclude with a brief reprise of the importance of developmental thinking in clinical practice, forming a clear framework for their perspective. The book is organized into chapters that cover key developmental stages, including:

• Infancy
• Toddlerhood
• Oedipal age (with two dedicated chapters)
• Latency
• Preadolescence
• Early and mid-adolescence
• Late adolescence
• Emerging adulthood

By emphasizing the importance of understanding developmental concepts, the authors demonstrate how every patient encounter demands familiarity with these concepts, as past and present are inextricably woven together, and present consciousness is an amalgam of all experience.

Normal Child and Adolescent Development: A Psychodynamic Primer is a twenty-first-century text that students and practitioners will welcome as a valuable resource.

Published by American Psychiatric Publishing, this book is a must-have for anyone seeking a comprehensive understanding of child and adolescent development.

Language: English

ISBN: 9781585624362, 9781585629961