ABSTRACT
Esther Bick's work has provided both a beacon and a foundation for her students and for those whom they in turn have trained in infant observation. Before she introduced infant observation to the training of child psychotherapists and child analysts, trainees and candidates did not have such a rich opportunity to heighten their sensitivity to the whole observational setting. Bick had a passion fuelling her curiosity that lead to her making new discoveries, a passion with which her method is imbued. Bick's own use of her method allowed her to make the discoveries she reported and discussed in the two papers on the experience and function of the skin, On first publication these were pioneering and highly creative. It is often said by those whom she trained or supervised that Bick had a passion for discovering more about the emotional experience of the newborn. Psychoanalysis is a relatively new science and Bick's contribution is a relatively recent one.
