Contemporary psychodynamic theory profoundly impacts our understanding of the development of psychopathology in children and adolescents. This book creates new concepts derived from contemporary psychodynamic theory that necessitate a revision to the principles underlying our understanding of and approach to young patients in psychotherapy. Moreover, this book reviews recent contributions from contemporary two-person relational psychodynamic theory and makes use of detailed case examples to bring to life this theory s practical applications in child and adolescent psychotherapy....

Clinicians often have difficulty helping the parents of youth with emotional and behavioral difficulties and fail to recognize that often it is the youth’s cognitive and learning weaknesses that drive their maladaptive behaviors. This book aims to help clinicians further understand the roots of youth’s maladaptive behaviors. It also addresses the impact of youth’s varied cognitive abilities on their behaviors and problems with self-esteem, particularly in youth that do not meet the diagnostic criteria for a formal learning disability. While many clinicians view learning deficits as...