Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Puberty and Adolescence: The Inner Worlds of Teenagers and their Parents

In the book “Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Puberty and Adolescence: The Inner Worlds of Teenagers and their Parents,” Gertraud Diem-Wille talks about parenting from a psychoanalytic perspective. It is not about what adults should do to make children obey, but about understanding the relationship between mother, father, and child.

The author describes the impact of parenthood on male and female parents, the change in their identity during the child’s development. Pregnancy as preparation for parenthood, the experience of experiencing a miscarriage.

“Ghosts in the Nursery” are unresolved conflicts between parents that affect children, their development, and subsequent behavior when they themselves become parents.

Gertraud Diem-Wille also talks about adoptive and foster families, and blended (step) families. She analyzes the impact of responsibility in such “special family constellations” on the inner world of fathers and mothers. In addition to theory, the author provides real examples of working with parents and children from her clinical practice.

The book will be useful for parents (both future and those who already have children), psychotherapists, social workers, pediatricians, and teachers.