ABSTRACT
In presenting the foregoing cases in some detail, our purpose is to show how the dual perspective outlined earlier in the book (observational/interpretive analytic, developmental/psychoanalytic) applies to clinical work. While there is no attempt to exhaust the variety of clinical situations, these nine cases were chosen to represent common issues and typical problems in assessment and intervention. Since the cases were drawn from the very different types of practice of the two authors, they may also suggest the variety of orientations typical among those who care for new parents and young children. We have also tried to balance the cases between those that present themselves as the infant's problem (prematurity, feeding problems) or that of the parents (depression, anxiety). In making this initial distinction, we recognize that both partners always make a contribution and that the symptom which brings parents to us may not be as significant as the underlying conflict or "imaginary interaction."
