Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of the book. This book talks about Young Child Observation as it is understood and practised within a large number of Psychoanalytic Observation courses running within academic and professional contexts across six continents. It reviews a theory of this approach to the study of the development of children between roughly 2 and 5 years. Over the last 30 years, many psychoanalytic Observational Studies courses linked to the Tavistock have been established in the United Kingdom, Europe, and beyond. A “natural experiment” concerning differences arising from the duration of the Young Child Observation happened in Italy, where for many years for historical reasons in the development of the curriculum the Young Child Observation seminar lasted two years, and therefore students began the two observations simultaneously.