Internal Mother : Conceptual and Technical Aspects of Object Constancy

This work analyses the concept of object constancy in the light of developmental research and clinical practice. The clinical implications of disturbances in object constancy are discussed with reference to therapeutic work with both children and adults.

Henri Parens is Professor of Psychiatry at Thomas Jefferson University and Training and Supervising Analyst (Adult and Child) at the Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia. He was formerly the Director of the Early Child Development Program, MCP/EPPI, and President of Parenting for Emotional Growth, Inc. He is the author of over 250 publications, including twenty-two books, as well as producing five scientific films, a documentary, and a television series for CBS. Dr. Parens is a Holocaust survivor, and the recipient of many honors and awards.

Salman Akhtar, MD, was born in India and completed his medical and psychiatric education there. Upon arriving in the USA in 1973, he repeated his psychiatric training at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, and then obtained psychoanalytic training from the Philadelphia Psychoanalytic Institute. Currently, he is Professor of Psychiatry at Jefferson Medical College and a training and supervising analyst at the Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia. He has authored, edited or co-edited more than 300 publications including books on psychiatry and psychoanalysis and several collections of poetry. He is also a Scholar-in-Residence at the Inter-Act Theatre Company in Philadelphia. Salman Akhtar received the Sigourney Award in 2012.