ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses that psychodynamic assessment is to systematize the thinking behind the observation of an infant and its parents when the infant shows developmental disturbances or the parents experience difficulty about understanding or providing for their infant's needs. It examines the interplay between the infant's needs and those of the mother. The psychotherapist uses different senses or theories or tools to understand the family. The chapter looks at the capacity to represent experiences internally and externally, since the family might be at risk. The systemization is based on the idea of a rudimentary ego with cognitive and emotional capacities that guide the quality of the development. Even though this assessment stands in its own right, it could be a valuable complement to traditional developmental approaches when there is a need of considering the psychodynamic reasons by which the emotional life has become obstructed or is showing signs of deterioration.
