Stella Acquarone began her pioneering career as a child psychotherapist and this book is based upon her observations and treatment of over 3,500 parents and their infants throughout several decades. With its roots in the major fields of psychology, emerging from developmental psychology, research in infancy and psychoanalysis of early life, she has created an exciting and ground-breaking new field of psychoanalytic psychotherapy -- infant-parent psychotherapy.This is a comprehensive handbook full of vital information on the theory and practice of infant-parent psychotherapy, that will revolutionise the treatment of babies for all professionals working with children.Infant-parent psychotherapy focuses on pre-verbal communication with babies, using the simple tools of experience and observation. Acquarone has developed new concepts, such as The Parenting Space and The Eternal Triangle (the mother-father-infant bond) to explain how the therapy works. This comprehensive handbook is full of vital information on the theory and practice of infant-parent psychotherapy. The history and background of infant-parent psychotherapy are laid out explaining the two vital components underlying the effectiveness of this kind of psychotherapy: neurobiological and psychodynamic. Its application to understanding babies is detailed, demonstrating the psychodynamic approach in theory and in practice. Once the basics are explained, Stella Acquarone presents a step-by-step guide on how to assess, diagnose and treat babies, including case studies for practical illustration. She also provides separate chapters on special needs babies and troubled mothers, again using case studies for examples. At the back of thebook, quick reference tables, maps, matrixes and indexes are provided.

This is a comprehensive handbook, full of vital information on the theory and practice of infant-parent psychotherapy, that will revolutionise the treatment of babies. It is essential reading for all professionals working with children. This volume is based upon the author's observations and treatment of over 3,500 parents and their infants throughout several decades. With its roots in the major fields of psychology, such as developmental psychology and psychoanalysis of early life, she has created an exciting and ground-breaking new field of psychoanalytic psychotherapy - infant-parent psychotherapy. It focuses on pre-verbal communication with babies, using the simple tools of experience and observation. In the first chapters, the history and background of infant-parent psychotherapy are laid out. Then, its application to understanding babies is detailed, demonstrating the psychodynamic approach in theory and in practice. Once the basics are explained, the author presents a step-by-step guide on how to assess, diagnose and treat babies, including case studies for practical illustration.

As a group, babies later diagnosed as autistic are found to have more complications during gestation and delivery than their normal siblings and others. In addition to all these complications, infants later diagnosed on the autistic spectrum have a two-fold rate of residence in neonatal intensive care units. Over the past 50 years, ever younger previously non-viable very low weight babies are being kept alive, some born as much as four months before term. However, it is becoming apparent that miraculous procedures to counteract organ immaturity and prolonged incubation contribute to a new gamut of hitherto unknown forms of neurological damage. With pregnancy curtailed, prematurely separated mothers and their babies both experience a prolonged state of limbo, with the fragile infant being exposed to excruciating medical interventions and overwhelming stimulation. International researchers and clinicians renowned for their work in the field of early autism come together to resolve queries around the long debate on the development and resolution of autism.

As a group, babies later diagnosed as autistic are found to have more complications during gestation and delivery than their normal siblings and others. In addition to all these complications, infants later diagnosed on the autistic spectrum have a two-fold rate of residence in neonatal intensive care units. Over the past 50 years, ever younger previously non-viable very low weight babies are being kept alive, some born as much as four months before term. However, it is becoming apparent that miraculous procedures to counteract organ immaturity and prolonged incubation contribute to a new gamut of hitherto unknown forms of neurological damage. With pregnancy curtailed, prematurely separated mothers and their babies both experience a prolonged state of limbo, with the fragile infant being exposed to excruciating medical interventions and overwhelming stimulation. International researchers and clinicians renowned for their work in the field of early autism come together to resolve queries around the long debate on the development and resolution of autism.

The term 'pre-autism' is becoming more widespread as a result of growing awareness of the importance of a child's first three years of life in diagnosing behaviours which, if untreated, can develop into autism. In this book we are shown the problems parents can experience when their young child does not respond to them in a 'typical' way, how they often voice concerns that something is 'not quite right' with their child, and how it is important to address these concerns, which may be signs of pre-autism. This book is about a new approach called 'Re:Start', developed by Stella Acquarone, to diagnose and treat early autism. In the Re:Start infant/family programme, a multidisciplinary team works with the parents and through the family relationships to reconfigure dysfunctional dynamics with the aim to "change destinies".

The term 'pre-autism' is becoming more widespread as a result of growing awareness of the importance of a child's first three years of life in diagnosing behaviours which, if untreated, can develop into autism. In this book we are shown the problems parents can experience when their young child does not respond to them in a 'typical' way, how they often voice concerns that something is 'not quite right' with their child, and how it is important to address these concerns, which may be signs of pre-autism. This book is about a new approach called 'Re:Start', developed by Stella Acquarone, to diagnose and treat early autism. In the Re:Start infant/family programme, a multidisciplinary team works with the parents and through the family relationships to reconfigure dysfunctional dynamics with the aim to "change destinies".

This book considers the principal physical and psychological ideas and thoughts of what happens to parents from the moment they conceive. The discussion covers mothers who have become vulnerable due to "external" circumstances and provides different models to help overcome this process.

This book considers the principal physical and psychological ideas and thoughts of what happens to parents from the moment they conceive. The discussion covers mothers who have become vulnerable due to "external" circumstances and provides different models to help overcome this process.