ABSTRACT
This chapter presents Stern’s model of self-development, and discusses its relevance to family therapy and the criticism levelled against it from social-constructionist quarters. Judy Dunn’s study of children’s social understanding and of close relationships has been another important source of inspiration for our exploration of the relation between developmental psychology and family therapy. The theoretical field has been mostly dominated by systemic theory and social constructionism, with a critical attitude towards psychological theory. At the same time, there has been a higher demand for psychological theory and phenomena-related concepts. The issues appearing increasingly on the agenda have been the individual’s place in the system, the significance of the concept of the self, and the connection between the self and the relation, as well as questions about the significance of feelings, the role of ethics. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
