ABSTRACT
Development here is not envisaged as a linear trajectory, but as interlocking orbits forming a spiral. Nor does development take place in isolation, but in the context of relationships that may themselves be continually changing. In this book we emphasise the interplay between the internal and external world and the development of the thinking mind, which is so crucial to maintaining a sense of self. By trying to capture the uniqueness and complexity of the developing personality, the contents of the lectures also bear testimony to the way in which hope supports the journey described. Hope implies expectation and desire, underpinned by a feeling of trust. It is to such openness to trust that this book is addressed and to describing the way in which unresolved intrapsychic, interpersonal issues may be renegotiated at different stages of development. In this sense, the present becomes the crucible of past and future.
