Infant ObservationPub Date : 2020-05-03DOI: 10.1080/13698036.2020.1792796
Henrietta Otley
{"title":"From omnipotence to acceptance: the account of an infant observation of the painful and necessary disillusionment of Jacob","authors":"Henrietta Otley","doi":"10.1080/13698036.2020.1792796","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13698036.2020.1792796","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This paper builds on Winnicott’s and Hopkins’ understanding of the potentially detrimental risks of a child receiving ‘too-good mothering’; the paper explores the possible consequences of the prolonged experience of perfectly attuned care of ‘Jacob’, from his sensitive, responsive mother. The author makes use of observational material to consider the important processes of idealisation, splitting and omnipotence involved in Jacob’s relationship to his mother, followed painfully by his difficulty at the next stage, that of integrating reality with ideal. His carefully managed transition to the childminder, so that his mother could work, was felt by all members of the family to be unbearable, and the arrangement fell apart. The author also looks at the roles of Jacob’s father and grandmother who could step in to offer something good enough, providing him with a second chance to work through the developmental task, in Winnicott’s terms, of becoming gradually disillusioned and more able to face reality.","PeriodicalId":38553,"journal":{"name":"Infant Observation","volume":"23 1","pages":"16 - 27"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-05-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/13698036.2020.1792796","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42600919","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Infant ObservationPub Date : 2020-05-03DOI: 10.1080/13698036.2020.1789488
D. Hindle
{"title":"Hansel and Gretel: a complex tale of parent-child interactions","authors":"D. Hindle","doi":"10.1080/13698036.2020.1789488","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13698036.2020.1789488","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Hansel and Gretel is a familiar and iconic tale of siblings struggling in the face of poverty, abandonment and fear, but it is also a tale of the children’s ingenuity and capacity to work together. Freud, Klein and more recent child development research have all added to our understanding of the significance of sibling relationships. In this paper the author briefly notes what is known about the original tale recorded by the brothers Grimm and describes and reflects on the story on a ‘scene by scene’ basis. In The Uses of Enchantment, Bettelheim emphasises Hansel and Gretel’s ego development and resilience. In the author’s reading of the story, consideration is given to the children’s inner worlds as described by Klein and the complex nature of interactions between parents and children. These interactions can be seen on a continuum – from familiar, ordinary experiences to those which have relevance to our understanding of children in adverse circumstances. In addition, the story poses different options for growing up – either the wish to bypass or the capacity to embrace the slow and often painful process of development. The tale of Hansel and Gretel has been told and re-told in many versions and through different mediums but continues to provide an opportunity to explore both phantasy and reality through the lens of our imagination.","PeriodicalId":38553,"journal":{"name":"Infant Observation","volume":"23 1","pages":"84 - 98"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-05-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/13698036.2020.1789488","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46024284","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Infant ObservationPub Date : 2020-05-03DOI: 10.1080/13698036.2020.1814842
Sudabeh Daghighi, M. Amini, N. Dodangeh, Mona Hashemzadeh, Mansoureh Kiani Dehkordi, Nasim Nekouei Shoja
{"title":"‘Tele-observation’ (with mobile phone) of infants discussed in online infant observation seminars during the ‘new normal’ of the Covid-19 pandemic","authors":"Sudabeh Daghighi, M. Amini, N. Dodangeh, Mona Hashemzadeh, Mansoureh Kiani Dehkordi, Nasim Nekouei Shoja","doi":"10.1080/13698036.2020.1814842","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13698036.2020.1814842","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The paper is a reflection on the collective experience of a group of observers were observing infants in Tehran, during the ‘lockdown’ period because of the Covid-19 pandemic. All continued their observations using a video link, called ‘tele-observation’. The observers were doing either their first or second year at infant observation in a course at Tehran University of Medical Sciences with babies from seven months to one and a half years old. The younger babies assisted their observers because they were not mobile, while some older ones were mobile, and some were walking; therefore, able to move out of range of the video link. The technology used was a simple cellphone camera using ‘WhatsApp’. The writers discuss the interrelation of two different arenas, the arena of technology and the emotional arena of infant observation. Three significant areas are covered, the observer-mother relationship, the observer-infant relationship and the mother-infant relationship. The authors do not enter into the field of theory, because their aim is to focus on their raw experiences in using video-link instead of observations in person, because of the unprecedented challenges to face to face contact created by a world pandemic.","PeriodicalId":38553,"journal":{"name":"Infant Observation","volume":"23 1","pages":"15 - 7"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-05-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/13698036.2020.1814842","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42361630","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Infant ObservationPub Date : 2020-05-03DOI: 10.1080/13698036.2020.1813928
Trudy Klauber
{"title":"Early reflections on online video infant observation during a pandemic","authors":"Trudy Klauber","doi":"10.1080/13698036.2020.1813928","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13698036.2020.1813928","url":null,"abstract":"The Covid-19 pandemic has affected the entire world. Most governments have imposed a degree of ‘lockdown’ as the virus spread from the Far East in Winter and spring 1920. The pandemic has affected ...","PeriodicalId":38553,"journal":{"name":"Infant Observation","volume":"1999 9","pages":"1 - 6"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-05-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/13698036.2020.1813928","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41263252","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Infant ObservationPub Date : 2020-05-03DOI: 10.1080/13698036.2020.1794709
Chau-Yee Lo
{"title":"Psychoanalysis and other matters: where are we now?","authors":"Chau-Yee Lo","doi":"10.1080/13698036.2020.1794709","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13698036.2020.1794709","url":null,"abstract":"One of the hallmarks of the naturalistic infant observation model developed by Esther Bick is the observer’s non-participatory stance, which is designed to facilitate and maximise the observer’s ab...","PeriodicalId":38553,"journal":{"name":"Infant Observation","volume":"23 1","pages":"103 - 107"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-05-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/13698036.2020.1794709","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49656111","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Infant ObservationPub Date : 2020-05-03DOI: 10.1080/13698036.2020.1814083
{"title":"Call for Papers for our next issue","authors":"","doi":"10.1080/13698036.2020.1814083","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13698036.2020.1814083","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":38553,"journal":{"name":"Infant Observation","volume":"23 1","pages":"108 - 108"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-05-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/13698036.2020.1814083","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49551719","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Infant ObservationPub Date : 2020-05-03DOI: 10.1080/13698036.2020.1789406
D. Hindle
{"title":"Essential readings from the Melanie Klein Archives: original papers and critical reflections","authors":"D. Hindle","doi":"10.1080/13698036.2020.1789406","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13698036.2020.1789406","url":null,"abstract":"There has been a growing interest in and attention to Melanie Klein’s work with the publication of three books in 2017, Rustin, M. and Rustin, M. Reading Klein, Sherwin-White, S. Melanie Klein Revi...","PeriodicalId":38553,"journal":{"name":"Infant Observation","volume":"23 1","pages":"103 - 99"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-05-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/13698036.2020.1789406","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46570992","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Infant ObservationPub Date : 2020-05-03DOI: 10.1080/13698036.2020.1790722
Gail Walker
{"title":"Reflections from an infant observation seminar leader: from omnipotence to acceptance: the account of an infant observation of the painful and necessary disillusionment of Jacob","authors":"Gail Walker","doi":"10.1080/13698036.2020.1790722","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13698036.2020.1790722","url":null,"abstract":"Leading a seminar group for students of Infant Observation is a fascinating experience. A group of students gather, usually with substantial professional experience of working with children and fam...","PeriodicalId":38553,"journal":{"name":"Infant Observation","volume":"23 1","pages":"28 - 34"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-05-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/13698036.2020.1790722","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44460311","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Infant ObservationPub Date : 2019-09-20DOI: 10.1080/13698036.2019.1680308
A. Cavalli, G. Williams
{"title":"Dealing with the impact of separation in the context of a therapeutic intervention called Special Time","authors":"A. Cavalli, G. Williams","doi":"10.1080/13698036.2019.1680308","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13698036.2019.1680308","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This paper describes a therapeutic intervention called ‘Special Time’ which is meant to give the possibility to teachers, nurses and other related professions, to offer total attention for 45 min to a child or an adolescent. There are some elements in common with child psychotherapy such as the use of a box with toys and other play materials for the allocated ‘time’ and the worker uses observational skills, notes her own feelings and emotions and writes an account of what happened for discussion in a group or individually with a supervisor. The worker in Special Time does not make transference interpretations but is helped to think about the possible meaning of interactions in supervision. The theoretical base is psychoanalytic, with an emphasis on containment and observation. The paper introduces the origins and potential aims of Special Time and one of its applications offered to street children in Mexico. Particular attention is given to the crucial issue of loss and separation for these children and young people.","PeriodicalId":38553,"journal":{"name":"Infant Observation","volume":"22 1","pages":"135 - 146"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/13698036.2019.1680308","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42479230","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Infant ObservationPub Date : 2019-09-20DOI: 10.1080/13698036.2019.1680309
L. Miller
{"title":"The inspiration of the ancients: Ceres and Proserpina from Ovid’s ‘Metamorphoses’. Infant observation meets the classics","authors":"L. Miller","doi":"10.1080/13698036.2019.1680309","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13698036.2019.1680309","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This paper makes a link between classical literature and psychoanalysis by way of a parallel in Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Infant Observation. The writer uses Ted Hughes’s translation of the tale of Ceres and Proserpina to link the myth of the seasons’ renewal with the psychoanalytic development of the baby seen in psychoanalytic terms. The story told by Hughes is seen as an illuminating version of the infant’s farewell to life at the breast, the dawning of anal and genital stirrings and the dramatic appearance of the Oedipal configuration. Pluto ravishes Proserpina away to Hades and she has to be half yielded up by her mother Ceres; while in the end both darkness and light, grief and happiness, winter and summer are seen as a complementary part of the human condition just as after the surmounting of weaning comes the advent of depressive feelings.","PeriodicalId":38553,"journal":{"name":"Infant Observation","volume":"22 1","pages":"79 - 85"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/13698036.2019.1680309","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48024725","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}