The Developing Mind: How Relationships and the Brain Interact to Shape Who We Are
"...brilliant....It should probably not be read at one sitting, but sifted slowly as you would a 20 year old port....This is not just a book for bright psychiatric residents or child fellows, but child psychiatrists young and old, over-worked or under-paid. It offers a glimpse of new horizons in the profession, and may be the harbinger of a fresh archetype for child psychiatry as it enters the next millennium."--The Canadian Child Psychiatry Review"...fulfilled my wildest expectations. Instead of laboriously struggling to learn about neurobiology, I found myself fairly effortlessly assimilating information because 1) the author is able to present his material in the context of interpersonal relationships in general and the treatment dyad in particular, and 2) the author is a master of lucidity, avoids pedantry, and succeeds in making his data clinically useful."--American Journal of Psychiatry"Readable, thoughtful, and informative."--Educational Leadership"I knew that this book was one I should keep handy when I wanted to improve my understanding of information on which the future science of psychiatry will be based."--Journal of Clinical Psychiatry"This is just the right book, on a very hot topic, at just the right time, by just the right author....The story Siegel tells is indeed fascinating, essentially describing the transactional processes that happen at the interface between developmental neurobiology and the environment of an individual. He links every level of the system from cell chemistry to brain architecture, to caregiver-infant attachments, to interpersonal relationships in adulthood. Siegel presents his synthesis of these rapidly developing fields in a readable style aimed at those professionally involved clinically in the field, but which could...also be read by the interested layperson....This is a book to stimulate, illuminate, and drive our understanding of human developmental processes forwards and I suspect thatThe Developing Mindwill be seen as a milestone work in the future."--Journal ofChild Psychology and Psychiatry"This is a remarkable book....Most impressively, [Siegel] weaves a complex, plausible and compelling theoretical synthesis on the bidirectional influences of interpersonal experience and brain development and functioning....The Developing Mindboldly transcends the reductionism that characterizes so much of contemporary psychiatry."--Psychiatric Times"The author has succeeded in integrating knowledge from several disciplines about interpersonal experience, human mental processes, and neurobiology to construct a conceptual foundation for an "interpersonal neurobiology" of the developing mind....No other book has addressed this subject so comprehensively, and it is sure to prove a valuable resource for those with primary neurophysiological knowledge and interests, especially students, scholars, and professionals in such associated areas as psychiatry, neuropsychology, developmental and professional psychology, and cognitive science."--Readings"...[A] current, thorough, closely argued text....One of Siegel's major gifts is for presenting anatomical, neurological, research, and clinical information while still pointing out what remains unknown. He explores infant-parent relationships, emotions, states of mind, and how knowing about them can help one improve one's relationships and capabilities for developing successfully."--Booklist"Why can't we remember what we did at age three? Why are some children unusually shy? What is the biochemistry of humiliation , and how can it be 'toxic to the developing child's brain'? New and plausible answers to these questions emerge from Siegel's synthesis of neurobiology, research psychology and cognitive science....his subject--how we become the people we are--deserves to hold many readers spellbound."--Publishers Weekly"This amazing synthesis of neurobiological research and clinical expertise should forever lay to rest the mind-brain dichotomy. The book is beautifully constructed, including highly readable descriptions of brain development, information processing, models of memory and narrative, and the importance of attachment in human development. Siegel also shows how healthy relationships and psychotherapeutic interventions can offer us a 'second chance' to undo maladaptive patterns and insecure early attachments. This book is suitable for anyone working in the fields of mental health or neuroscience, and will be a superb guide for medical students and psychiatric residents."--Clarice J. Kestenbaum, MD, Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University"This beautifully written book achieves many things at once. It provides a much-needed, user-friendly description of the latest knowledge about brain development and function. It helps us to understand crucial links between neurobiology, subjective experience, and human relationships. It places the findings of attachment theory research in a solid biological context that explains the lifelong impact of early experience. It shows how trauma affects biological, emotional, and interpersonal functioning. And it does all of this with such clarity, compassion, and even humor, that the reader is left with a feeling of gratitude for having learned so much so effortlessly. This book is important and timely, and should serve as a standard reference for anybody interested in the mind--which is to say, anybody interested in the human experience."--Alicia F. Lieberman, PhD, Professor of Medical Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco"In this extraordinary book, Siegel creatively integrates state-of-the-art knowledge of emotional development, neurobiology, cognitive science, attachment research, and and complexity theory. The resulting model cogently describes how a developing brain/mind organizes itself in the context of an emotional relationship with other brain/minds. This cutting-edge volume is essential reading for clinicians, researchers, and anyone who is intrigued by one of science's fundamental problems--the psychobiological origins of the human mind."--Allan N. Schore, PhD, School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles"Siegel's brilliant, concise synthesis of cutting-edge research in cognitive neuroscience and attachment theory provides the family therapist with a powerful way of understanding the origins of our behaviors in relationships. When I have shared these ideas with the families, couples, and students I see in clinical practice and in teaching, their response has been overwhelmingly positive. Siegel helps us make sense of mysteries of experience with which we all wrestle."--Gillian Walker, MSW, Senior Faculty, Ackerman Institute for the Family, New York"This book offers an invaluable analysis and synthesis of the research and theory on the brain development of children. In a field where the volume and complexity of the research can be daunting, Siegel provides a real service. For professionals who want to understand the field, for practitioners who want to be well-grounded in research and theory, and for anyone who wants a truly deep understanding of human relationships, this book is one of the best places to turn."--Ellen Galinsky, MS, President, Families and Work Institute, New York"For mind scientists, these are exciting but humbling times. As we learn more about the brain, we see how one-sided our abstract models of mental life have been. Focusing on what single heads can perceive, think, and learn, neuropsychology has disregarded our inborn ability to imitate, imagine, and sympathize with the feelings of others. This clear and straightforward book sets forth a new understanding of how communicated emotions influence the regulation of brain circuit growth and the consolidation of cognitive systems. Siegel demonstrates an impressive grasp of how the brain is believed to know and remember, a deep sensitivity to the joys and sorrows of human relationships, and a child psychiatrist's will to bridge the gap between scientific and clinical knowledge. This book will be of interest to clinicians, clinicians-in-training, and all those wishing to stay abreast of the new, more natural science of communicating minds."--Colwyn Trevarthen, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, UK