First published in 1952, Phantasy in Childhood is for a psycho-analytically oriented public. The authors have set out to express in non-technical language some of the theories we owe to the work of Melanie Klein, and to show how they are repeatedly borne out in the day-to-day behaviour of children. Numerous practical examples are given, drawn from experience of children under many different conditions. In some cases the authors merely suggest interpretations which seem likely, but would need psychoanalytic confirmation; in others the meaning is unmistakable from the material available; in all, the aim has been to point to the presence and nature of unconscious phantasy, and to its expression in behaviour. Although written in simple language, the book is not easy, as, to those who are unfamiliar with it, the concept of unconscious phantasy is in itself difficult. The attempt has been made, however, to give living pictures of the children, and, while definitely not advocating the wild application of a psycho-analytic technique, to show how some understanding of the importance of phantasy can be of value to those caring for children. This book is a re-issue originally published in 1952. The language used is a reflection of its era and no offence is meant by the Publishers to any reader by this re-publication.

The Absorbent Mind was Maria Montessori's most in-depth work on her educational theory, based on decades of scientific observation of children. Her view on children and their absorbent minds was a landmark departure from the educational model at the time. This book helped start a revolution in education. Since this book first appeared there have been both cognitive and neurological studies that have confirmed what Maria Montessori knew decades ago.

This is Volume IX of thirty-two on a series on Developmental Psychology. First published in 1935, this study looks at the development of imagination in children. Which uses a method in which observation of the free behaviour of children plays the principal role, but in which experimental technique is represented by a somewhat rigorous control of conditions, by a discreet use of question and answer, and by an emphasis on the necessity for accurate and full report, while psychoanalysis, at the same time, contributes a depth of insight, a realization of the importance of affective factors, and an alertness for the significance of detail.

Based on Dr. Maria Montessori's philosophies for nurturing babies and toddlers, this practical and useful guide is brimming with instructions, anecdotes, and encouragement for raising calm, competent, and confident children—from designing the baby’s bedroom to encouraging life skills such as dressing themselves and working both independently and collaboratively. What can parents do to help their youngest children in their task of self-formation? How does the Montessori method of hands-on learning and self-discovery relate to newborns, infants, and toddlers? This authoritative and accessible book answers these and many other questions. Its comprehensive exploration of the first three years incorporates the furnishings and tools Dr. Montessori created for the care and comfort of babies. From the design of the baby's bedroom to the child-sized kitchen table, from food preparation to clothing and movement, the authors provide guidance for the establishment of a beautiful and serviceable environment for babies and very young children. They also introduce concepts and tasks, taking into account children’s ''sensitive periods'' for learning such skills as toilet training. Written in a clear, engaging style, Montessori from the Start is a must-have for every new parent.

Imagine growing up smart, ambitious, and queer in a home where your father Sigmund Freud thinks that women should aspire to be wives and calls lesbianism a gateway to mental illness. He also says that lesbianism is always caused by the father, and is usually curable by psychoanalysis. Then he analyzes you. Ultimately Anna Freud loved Dorothy Tiffany Burlingham (heir to the Tiffany fortune) for 54 years. They raised a family together and became psychoanalysts in their own right, specializing in work with children. But first Anna had to navigate childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood in a famous family where her kind of romantic longings were considered dangerous. What was it like to grow up the lesbian daughter of “the great Sigmund Freud”? Aside from Anna’s sexuality and from her father’s intrusive psychoanalysis of her, what were the Freud family's most closely closeted skeletons? What is it about the birth of psychoanalysis that even today's psychoanalysts would prefer to keep secret? How did Anna defy her father so thoroughly while continuing to love him and learn from him? Weaving a grand tale out of a pile of crazy facts, Hysterical: Anna Freud's Story lets the pioneering child psychologist freely examine the forces that shaped her life.

'There is no doubt that "phantasy" or "unconscious phantasy", as it started to be used in the English translation of Freud's work in the late 1920s and 1930s to differentiate it from "fantasy", is one of the most important theoretical and clinical concepts of psychoanalysis.'- Riccardo Steiner, from the IntroductionIn this outstanding new collection, the vital concept of unconscious phantasy is debated and examined by such luminaries as Joseph and Anne-Marie Sandler, Jean Laplanche, J-B Pontalis, Susan Isaacs and Hanna Segal. Sigmund Freud's seminal paper Formulations of the Two Principles of Mental Functioning heads an impressive collection and provides a welcome reminder of the beginnings of this theory. The inherent difficulties in translating Freud's work have contributed to the conflicting interpretations that are so illustrated so well in the following articles. By collecting together such diverse opinions of Freudians, Kleinians, Lacanians and Neuroscientists on unconscious phantasy, Riccardo Steiner has created a fresh and compelling elucidation of this fascinating subject.

Daydreaming, our ability to give ‘to airy nothing a local habitation and a name’, remains one of the least understood aspects of human behaviour. As children we explore beyond the boundaries of our experience by projecting ourselves into the mysterious worlds outside our reach. As adolescents and adults we transcend frustration by dreams of achievement or escape, and use daydreaming as a way out of intolerable situations and to help survive boredom, drudgery or routine. In old age we turn back to happier memories as a relief from loneliness or frailty, or wistfully daydream about what we would do if we had our time over again. Why is it that we have the ability to alternate between fantasy and reality? Is it possible to have ambition or the ability to experiment, create or invent without the catalyst of fantasy? Are sexual fantasies an inherent part of human behaviour? Are they universal, healthy, destructive? Is daydreaming itself destructive? Or is it a force which facilitates change and which can even be harnessed to positive advantage? In this provocative book, originally published in 1975, the product of the previous twenty-five years of research, the author debates the nature and function of daydreaming in the light of his own experiments. As well as investigating what is a normal ‘fantasy-life’ and outlining patterns and types of daydreaming, he describes the role of daydreaming in schizophrenia and paranoia, examines the fantasies and hallucinations induced by drugs and also the nature of altered states of consciousness in Zen and Transcendental Meditation. Among the many topics covered, he explains how it is possible to help children enlarge their capacity for fantasy, how adults can make positive use of daydreaming and how people on the verge of disturbed behaviour are often unconscious of their own fantasies. Advances in scientific methods and new experimental techniques had made it possible at this time to monitor both conscious daydreaming and sub-conscious fantasies in a way not possible before. Professor Singer is one of the few scientists who have conducted substantial research in this area and it is his belief that the study of daydreaming and fantasy is of great importance if we are to understand the workings of the human mind.

This reference work breaks new ground as an electronic resource. Utterly comprehensive, it serves as a repository of knowledge in the field as well as a frequently updated conduit of new material long before it finds its way into standard textbooks.

There is at present a worldwide resurgence of interest in the meaning and importance of children's play. Dr Margaret Lowenfeld was one of the leading figures in child psychology in the years between the two world wars, and her ideas have profoundly influenced our thinking about play in childhood. She recorded these ideas and described her methods in one major book, Play in Childhood, first published in 1935. This new volume in the series Classics in Developmental Medicine faithfully reproduces the original Lowenfeld text, while bringing the references in line with modern practice and presenting the book in a contemporary style. Many of Lowenfeld's techniques described in this book are still available and widely used today: the Lowenfeld Mosaic Test, the Lowenfeld World Technique, Poleidoblocs, and Kaleidoblocs. Lowenfeld's original accounts of these techniques and the thoughts behind them are now available once again to all working with young children, and this book should be of great interest to psychologists, psychiatrists, pediatricians, primary school teachers, and research workers in the field of human development.