vbid/9781134881932

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In this tribute to Selma Kramer, eminent child analyst and colleague and close friend of the late Margaret Mahler, senior analysts explore the continuing relevance of Mahler’s separation-individuation theory to developmental and clinical issues.� Editors Salman Akhtar and Henri Parens have grouped the original contributions to Beyond the Symbiotic Orbit into sections that reevaluate Mahler’s theory. Section I is a timely reassessment of Mahler’s working model from the standpoint of contemporary clinical and research findings.� It includes comparisons of Mahler with Winnicott and Kohut, and commentaries on the status of separation-individuation theory in relation to psychosexual theory, early ego development, and observational infancy research.� Section II addresses the contribution of separation-individuation theory to our understanding of pathogenesis.� Neurosis, severe character pathology, psychosomatic phenomena, eating disorders, and sexual perversions are among the topics of specific chapters.� The final section explores the role of separation-individuation theory in the treatment of analysands of different ages and with different kinds of psychopathology; it also considers separation-individuation theory with respect to specific aspects of the treatment process, including reconstruction, transference, and termination. A fresh reappraisal�of a major perspective on early development, Beyond the Symbiotic Orbit is a fitting testimonial to Selma Kramer,�who has played so important a role in elaborating Mahler’s theory.� Following from Kramer’s own example, the�contributors show how separation-individuation theory, in its ability to accomodate ongoing clinical and research findings, is subject to�continuing growth and refinement.� They not only advance our understanding of�Mahler’s working model, but pursue the implications of this model in new directions, underscoring the many areas of exploration that separation-individuation theory opens to us.�Typham this is the title: Beyond the Symbiotic Orbit Advances in Separation-Individuation Theory: Essays in Honor of Selma Kramer, MD 1st Edition