Early Development and its Disturbances: Clinical, Conceptual and Empirical Research on ADHD and other Psychopathologies and its Epistemological Reflections

In this volume internationally well known experts discuss whether psychoanalysis - with its rich mix of clinical experiences and conceptualizations of early development and symptoms - has something unique to offer through deepening the understanding of children suffering from this and similar developmental disturbances. The contributors consider therapeutic strategies as well as possibilities of early prevention.

Surprisingly, psychoanalysts have only during the past few years actively engaged in the on-going and very important controversial discussions on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). There may be many reasons for the increasing interest in this topic over the past few years - for example the dialogue between psychoanalysis and contemporary neurobiology/brain research which opens a fascinating window on an old problem in European culture: the mind-body problem. This exchange also promises to enlarge the understanding of psychic problems probably connected with some neurobiologically-based pathologies, widely assumed to include ADHD.

Another area covered in this work shows that it might be that it is only during the last years that epigenetic researchers have been able empirically to demonstrate that early traumatization might strongly influence the 'triggering' of gene disposition, for example the genetic disposition to develop ADHD. This gives some reassurance that it may be relevant to treat children with ADHD psychoanalytically: psychoanalysts have expertise in understanding and treating children affected by early trauma, independent of their genetic disposition.