Parenting and Childhood Memories: A Psychoanalytic Approach to Reverberating Ghosts and Magic

Parenting and Childhood Memories is a collection of stories about the ways in which parents’ childhood memories influence their current interactions with their babies and young children: the ghosts and magic of our minds.

This book explores the underlying meanings of parents’ memories that emerge in their perceptions of their children and their responses to the challenges of early development and the everyday life stresses of parenting. Drawing on extensive material originating in mother-child groups and parent consultations, the author demonstrates that parents’ emotional growth and ability to nurture their young children’s emotional health is promoted by uncovering the links between the past and the present and unearthing the underlying meanings of seemingly inexplicable behavior. This original book, grounded in long-established psychoanalytic ideas, is about moments in early development and parent-child interaction that tell this story.

Offering useful insights, readers will be intrigued by the details of the therapeutic process described and be inspired by the outcomes. This book will appeal to psychoanalysts, therapists, mental health professionals, and parents.