Resources

This page provides book, article, and website recommendations. Topics include child development, military families, teaching about psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy, and website links.

Child Development

Infancy and Preschool

  • Oneness and Separateness: From Infant to Individual
    Kaplan, L.; New York: Simon and Schuster, 1998 (paperback)
    A poetic book about the first three years of life.
  • The Magic Years: Understanding & Handling the Problems of Early Childhood
    Fraiberg, S.; New York: Scribner, 1959 (paperback)
    A classic about the inner world of preschool children, written by a child analyst and renowned researcher.
  • Dibs in Search of Self
    Axline, V.; Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1964
    The touching journey of a young child’s experiences in play therapy.

Elementary School Years

  • Playground Politics: Understanding the Emotional Life of Your School-Age Child
    Greenspan, S. I. & Salman J.; New York: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1993;
    An easily read book incorporating five principles of healthy parenting throughout the text.
  • Taking Play Seriously
    Henig, R. M.; The New York Times Magazine 02/17/08 – nytimes.com
    The contribution of play to psychological development at all ages.
  • Marguerite Kelly’s Family Almanac
    Kelly, M.; New York: Simon and Schuster, 1994 (paperback)
    A columnist with psychologically informed advice for parents. Also see her online columns from The Washington Post.
  • Latency
    Sarnoff, C. A.; New York: Aronson, 1976
    A classic in helping therapists and interested non-therapists understand development, both normal and problematic, in the school-aged child. Note in particular the first two chapters.

Adolescence

  • Adolescence: Farewell to Childhood
    Kaplan, L.; New York: Simon and Schuster, 1984
    Exploring the very challenging transitional issues for adolescent females from pre-puberty to adulthood, this book alternates the intellectual discussion of many complex issues with a creative, almost free-form ability to consider facets of adolescent psychological development from other fields, including sociology, culture, neurology, and critical legal studies of women. It will appeal to those who have a deep interest in the development of adult women in all its aspects. Review written by Cynthia Barnes.
  • The Inside Story on Teen Girls
    Rubenstein, A. & Zager, K.; Washington, DC
    American Psychological Association, 2002
    For adolescent girls and their parents to read together.