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This book, which the editor describes as an international Festschrift, will be an enormous pleasure to all those who over the years have come into contact with Ann Alvarez and her work. To have what amounts to a companion edition to her first book Live Company (1992), now in its fourth edition, will also be a delight to many, and, to remind us of the poise and freshness of that book the present editor, Judith Edwards, has included as a foreword the original review by Victoria Hamilton from the Journal of Child Psychotherapy (, 20(1)). Another ‘echo’ of Live Company has also been cleverly worked into the front cover of the new book.
The work of Alvarez forms part of the widening (and deepening) scope of indications for child psychotherapy at the Tavistock Clinic since the 1960s when children with severe ego impairment (autism) were brought into analytic treatment. As this book illustrates, her work with psychotic, borderline and autistic children not only carries forward this tradition but has shaped its evolution. Today there is a growing curiosity in, study of and respect for contemporary Kleinian work with children and the vitalizing effects of Alvarez's contributions have been a potent stimulus for this interest. With her inventive use of Kleinian technique and her interest in theoretical debates, all communicated though a lucid writing style and a spry personal presence, her teaching and writings have allowed students and colleagues alike to cross many borders - between countries, between different disciplines, between different theoretical traditions within child psychotherapy itself. Writers from three different continents have contributed to this book and the editor has divided their contributions into two broad sections, covering theoretical and clinical contributions.
Neil Altman begins by exploring the points of correspondence between Alvarez's technical ideas and the self-psychology and intersubjectivist approaches in North America. He describe