Psychoanalysis with Adolescents and Children

Psychoanalysis with Adolescents and Children: Learning to Surf offers an insightful and clinically grounded guide to working psychoanalytically with young patients. Drawing on the metaphor of “learning to surf,” Mary T. Brady illustrates the emotional turbulence of childhood and adolescence and the analyst’s task of remaining present, flexible, and thoughtful amid intense psychic experience.

Key Features:

• Introduces the metaphor of “learning to surf” as a framework for understanding psychoanalytic work with children and adolescents.
• Draws on Bionian Field Theory and the contributions of Donald Winnicott to inform clinical practice.
• Includes rich clinical vignettes based on the author’s extensive experience.
• Addresses contemporary clinical issues such as eating disorders, gender-related challenges, parental substance abuse, and the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Explores the emotional intensity and developmental instability characteristic of adolescence and childhood.
• Essential reading for psychoanalysts and psychotherapists working with children and adolescents, including psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors, and therapists.