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In a moving presentation of concepts and three case illustrations, Settlage discusses adult development as it occurs in daily life as well as in the therapeutic relationship. His concepts are based on a child developmental and therapeutic perspective, namely, that in a psychoanalysis with resolution of psychic conflict, an area that had been closed by pathology opens up and allows for further development. The author's basic model for development is the mother-child interaction, out of which the child develops functions and structures that serve self-regulation and adaptation. Settlage goes on to outline criteria for developmental achievement which are derived from a process model of development and are applied within all the life-span stages. When an area of the personality is pathologically involved, there is a closure of the mental system to further development in that area. Delineating the “developmental stance” toward patients, Settlage conceives of the developmental and therapeutic processes as separate but interrelated. They both take place within the therapeutic relationship and are complementary, but one has to do with undoing aspects of pathology and the other with opportunities for development. Creative processes in individuals can also lead to freedom from defensive constraint. The author believes adult development is ongoing whether there is treatment or not; people other than a therapist can act as new developmental objects.