Mahler

• Developmental stages in first few years of life

  • Focused on independence, how the child grows from an entirely dependent being to one who is relatively independent, both physically and psychologically
  • Successful completion results in separation and individuation
• Separation


  Internal process of mental separation from the mother
• Individuation


  Developing self-concept
• The child's developing capacity to represent the mother


  Allows his/her independence from the mother
• Normal Autistic Phase (0-1 month)


  1. First weeks of life and shows little social engagement

  2. Infant is focused on himself/herself

  3. Uninterested in external stimuli

  4. Primary Goal: achieve a state of equilibrium, while lacking the understanding that the satisfaction needs may come from an external source

  5. As if they are inside their own egg shell
• Normal Symbiotic Phase (1-5 month)


  1. First 6 months of life, occurs when the child gains awareness of caregivers but has no sense of individuality

  2. Acknowledges the mother's existence as the main source of need-satisfaction

  3. Egg extends to include the mother
• Separation-Individuation (5-24 months)


  1. Child develop a sense of self, separated from the mother

  2. In separation, the infant develops an understanding of boundaries of the self

  3. Individuation marks the development of a sense of self

  4. Differentiation: occurs when the child first gains awareness that he or she is separate from the mother (5-10 months)

  5. Practicing: occurs when child becomes toddler, gaining motor skills that enable the child to explore the world independently from his or her caregivers (10-16/18 months)

  6. Rapprochement: "backing off" from separation, the child becomes anxious about separation from his mother and regains closeness (18-24 months)

  7. Object Constancy: development of an internalized mental model of the mother, which unconsciously accompanies and supports the child even when they are physically separated (24+ months)
• Children exist in a symbiotic phase until they reach about 6 months of age
• They are unaware of their surroundings and others and only are cognizant of themselves as one with their mothers
• As the child matures, perception of his or her mother begins to evolve and the child internalizes the images of her
• Disruptions in normal developmental trajectory could lead to maladaptive behavior