And we hope by understanding the nuts and bolts, the mechanisms, of the process, we will be able to define interventions that are far more effective. Dr. Fonagy characterized the symposium as a unique union of foremost experts in child development. The nineteen clinicians and researchers represented a host of countries, including England, Hungary, Germany, Canada, and the United States. We want to find out the basic processes of how the mind develops and how the relationship between the caregiver and the child develops. Dr. Gergely said the symposium offered an opportunity to some of the world's brightest minds in mental health research and treatment to share their mutual wisdom in an effort to better understand the early risk factors for infants.
Research is both experimental and observational, and includes the use of physiological measures.
The Center is currently conducting more than one dozen research projects. In addition to Drs. Menninger is a world-renowned psychiatric institution established in 1925 for the treatment, prevention, education, and research of mental illness.