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Ever since Esther Bick pioneered the introduction of infant observation into the training of child psychotherapists at the Tavistock Clinic in 1948, it has established itself as an invaluable tool for learning about the complexity and richness of the earliest relationships. This has now become an inbuilt module in most psychoanalytically based training, as well as in the training of allied professionals throughout many countries of the world. This book arose out of the first conference on infant observation, which took place at the Tavistock Clinic, London, in 1993. The conference aimed to explore and review the most significant theoretical developments that have taken place in infant observation since its conception, highlight the many research initiatives it has stimulated and examine its impact on clinical practice. The diversity of experience and creative thinking reflected in so many of the papers presented at this conference not only demanded to be heard by a wider audience—hence this book—but also fuelled the birth of a new journal on infant observation, underpinning the significance of ‘psycho-analytic’ infant-observation-based research and insights in the field of infant mental health.
Susan Reid has written an introductory chapter outlining the nature of infant observation for those readers unfamiliar with the task. She compares infant observation with looking at human relationships through a microscope, focusing on the tiny details involved in any human exchange. The observer is encouraged to be open-minded and supported ‘to see what is there to be seen and not to look for what they think should be there’ (p. 1). In this way, beginning an observation affords the student a rich and moving experience, while at the same time exposing him to a great deal of uncertainty and anxiety, stripping away omniscient and intellectual defences and stirring up his own unconscious infantile experiences. Throughout this chapter, and indeed the whole book, the reader is remi