ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the effects of early neglect on the developing mind of a child and how this has a profound effect on the adults in that child’s life. It focuses on some classical psychoanalytic ideas, in particular the work of Hamish Canham with such client groups, and deals with learning from attachment theory, neuroscience, and developmental psychology. The chapter discusses some of the challenges that working with them present to clinicians, as well as some of the ways in which contemporary therapeutic technique has had to be refined and developed to work with them successfully. The chapter also focuses on the work of thinkers such as Canham who particularly pointed to the central importance of the countertransference in work with such children. It describes the understandings with research findings from neuroscience, attachment theory, and developmental psychology that can aid our understanding and interventions with neglected children.
