An Introduction to Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy

With contributions from Aidalida Altamirano, Carl Bagnini, Ana Maria Barroso, Anabella Brostella, Vali Maduro, Elizabeth Palacios, David Scharff, Jill Savege Scharff, Kate Scharff, Caroline Sehon, Lea Setton, Yolanda Varela, and Janine Wanlass.An Introduction to Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy is for adult and child therapists who want to learn about treating children and adolescents from a psychoanalytic perspective. It is a comprehensive introduction to provide adult psychoanalytic therapists with enough information and support to take up the challenge of beginning child and adolescent psychotherapy and to give CBT and sand play therapists access to a psychoanalytic perspective on work with young people. It grew from lectures and discussions with therapists over the course of a two-year training program, covering theory and technique of assessment and therapy, play, ethics, and work with parents. The contributors show how to deal with the common symptom presentations, how to establish a relationship, deal with resistance, engage in play, and interpret unconscious conflict. Included are clinical case conferences and consultations, and North and Central American, European, and Chinese clinical examples provide global relevance. This edited book is a group effort that presents a compendium of basic principles of practice and has a grounding in ethics and research, child and adolescent development, psychoanalytic theory of childhood, wellness and psychopathology of childhood, treatment technique, and consulting in the community to schools, agencies, and family court.This is a must-read book for all professionals engaged in working with children and adolescents, and for psychotherapists who would like to learn more about working with young people from a psychoanalytic perspective.

About the Author

Jill Savege Scharff, MD, is cofounder of the International Psychotherapy Institute (IPI) and founding chair of the International Institute for Psychoanalytic Training (IIPT) and of the Combined Child Analytic and Child Psychotherapy training program at the International Psychotherapy Institute in Chevy Chase, MD. She is the founding chair of IPI's Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy training program at Jiandanxinli of Beijing, China. The author and editor of books on couple, child, and family therapy, and psychoanalytic therapy and education online, Jill's latest edited volume is Psychoanalysis Online Volume 4. Her private practice in adult and child psychoanalysis, couple and family therapy is in Chevy Chase MD, USA. Jill is a recipient of the 2021 Sigourney Award.