Claudia M. Gold

A practical distillation of cutting-edge developmental research for mental health professionals.

Clinical Applications of Infant Mental Health Concepts from Infancy Through Adolescence

The Developmental Science of Early Childhood

Ed Tronick

Why the Ups and Downs of Relationships Are the Secret to Building Intimacy, Resilience, and Trust

Power of Discord

Utilizing narrative storytelling, this user-friendly guide describes the principles of early relational health with direct application to day-to-day work with infants and parents. Practitioners on the front lines with young children and families often feel great pressure to know “what to do” in a broad variety of challenging situations. Drawing on both developmental science and extensive clinical experience, Dr. Gold provides evidence that the exact opposite—a stance of not-knowing—helps us find our way into another person’s experience, offering the greatest opportunity for connection, growth, and healing. Gold presents a model of “listening in” with an intentional suspension of expectations and a willingness to be surprised. The paradigm of listening in functions as a kind of superpower to enhance teacher–student, professional–parent, and parent–infant relationships. This resource will be important reading for a broad variety of practitioners including early childhood educators, home visitors, pediatricians, doulas, and mental health clinicians, as well as policymakers, parents, and other caregivers of young children. Book Features: Summarizes the key advances in our understanding of brain science, child development, and infant-parent mental health.Emphasizes lessons from real-life interactions between infants and caregivers as communicated through detailed clinical vignettes.Offers practitioners a model for listening that is rooted in the concept of cultural humility and the idea that even in sameness there is difference. “Each reader will take away something unique to their professional and personal journeys. But I imagine that most readers will catch a sense of wonder and encouragement about this beautifully human thing we call ‘relationship.’” —From the Foreword by Junlei Li, senior lecturer in early childhood education, co-chair, Human Development and Education Program, Harvard Graduate School of Education

Lessons in Early Relational Health From Infants and Caregivers

Getting to Know You

This original look at how to foster connections, attachment, and resiliency explains why working through discord is the key to better relationships. You might think that perfect harmony is the defining characteristic of healthy relationships, but the truth is that human interactions are messy, complicated, and confusing. And according to renowned psychologist Ed Tronick and paediatrician Claudia Gold, that is not only okay, but crucial to our social and emotional development. In The Power of Discord they show how working through the inevitable dissonance of human connection is the path to better relationships with romantic partners, family, friends, and colleagues. Dr. Tronick was one of the first researchers to show, via 'The Still-Face Experiment', that babies are profoundly affected by their parents' emotions and behaviour. His work, which brought about a foundational shift in our understanding of human development, shows that our highly evolved sense of self makes us separate, yet our survival depends on connection. Working through the volley of mismatch and repair in everyday life helps us form deep, lasting, trusting relationships, and resilience in times of stress and trauma, and a solid sense of self in the world. Drawing on Dr Tronick's research and Dr Gold's clinical experience, The Power of Discord is a refreshing and original look at our ability to relate to others and to ourselves. 'This profoundly wise book sets out how the dance of connection and disconnection with attachment figures molds our nervous system, our emotional lives, our sense of self, and our ability to dance in tune with others. When we miss each other is when we truly learn to turn, reach, and connect. There are no slick tips for perfect relationships with your kids or lovers here. Just a deep understanding of how the imperfections of life and love can make us strong.' -Sue Johnson, author of Hold Me Tight 'A brilliant overview of our contemporary relational landscape that argues that what people - both children and adults - need most is the messiness of real relationships, with their conflicts, partial resolutions, and imperfect efforts at repair. In trying to make these things work, we practice attention, connection, and listening. We practice our humanity. We learn to put technology in its place. A book for thinking and for practical action. A must-read.' -Sherry Turkle, author of Alone Together- why we expect more from technology 'Our relationships with attachment figures are often innately 'messy' and filled with discord as mismatches rupture the attuned, resonant alignments that are possible in our relational world. The reconnection established in the mismatch-repair process illuminated in this important work enables us to develop resilience in the face of the inevitable disconnections in these important self-defining close connections in our lives. This wise book will help many to reframe such ruptures as opportunities rather than troublesome burdens, painful yet important challenges that can actually afford us the interactive reconnection experiences that serve as the foundation for flourishing in life.' -Dr Daniel J. Siegel, author of Mindsight, and clinical professor at UCLA School of Medicine

The Power of Discord

This original look at how to foster connections, attachment, and resiliency explains why working through discord is the key to better relationships. You might think that perfect harmony is the defining characteristic of healthy relationships, but the truth is that human interactions are messy, complicated, and confusing. And according to renowned psychologist Ed Tronick and paediatrician Claudia Gold, that is not only okay, but crucial to our social and emotional development. In The Power of Discord they show how working through the inevitable dissonance of human connection is the path to better relationships with romantic partners, family, friends, and colleagues. Dr. Tronick was one of the first researchers to show, via ‘The Still-Face Experiment’, that babies are profoundly affected by their parents’ emotions and behaviour. His work, which brought about a foundational shift in our understanding of human development, shows that our highly evolved sense of self makes us separate, yet our survival depends on connection. Working through the volley of mismatch and repair in everyday life helps us form deep, lasting, trusting relationships, and resilience in times of stress and trauma, and a solid sense of self in the world. Drawing on Dr Tronick’s research and Dr Gold’s clinical experience, The Power of Discord is a refreshing and original look at our ability to relate to others and to ourselves.

why the ups and downs of relationships are the secret to building intimacy, resilience, and trust

Le interazioni umane sono caotiche e complesse. E questo, in realtà, è indispensabile per lo sviluppo sociale ed emotivo degli individui. Il potere della discordia sostiene che far fronte all’inevitabile dissonanza sia la strada per migliorare le relazioni con il partner, la famiglia, gli amici, i colleghi. Con il loro lavoro, Ed Tronick e Claudia Gold mettono in luce come il senso di sé ci renda unici e separati, benché la sopravvivenza di ciascuno di noi dipenda dalla relazione, dall’esperienza condivisa di creare significato. In questo modo ci avviciniamo l’uno all’altro, acquisendo fiducia nel processo di reciproca comprensione via via che poniamo rimedio agli errori e alle tensioni che lo accompagnano. Affrontare l’alternanza di contrasto e riparazione nella vita quotidiana ci aiuta a costruire relazioni profonde e durature. A partire dalla ricerca di Tronick e dall’esperienza clinica di Gold, Il potere della discordia apre una prospettiva inedita e originale sulla nostra capacità di entrare in rapporto con gli altri e con noi stessi. Particolare importanza riveste, all’interno di questa prospettiva, il paradigma dello Still Face elaborato da Tronick, che mostra come i bambini possiedano la capacità di interagire con il proprio ambiente molto prima che si sviluppino le strutture del cervello responsabili del pensiero simbolico e del linguaggio.

Perché il conflitto rafforza le relazioni

Il potere della discordia

This "profoundly wise" look at how to foster connections, attachment, and resiliency explains why working through discord is the key to better relationships. (Sue Johnson, bestselling author of Hold Me Tight) You might think that perfect harmony is the defining characteristic of healthy relationships, but the truth is that human interactions are messy, complicated, and confusing. And according to renowned psychologist Ed Tronick and pediatrician Claudia Gold, that is not only okay, it is actually crucial to our social and emotional development. In The Power of Discord they show how working through the inevitable dissonance of human connection is the path to better relationships with romantic partners, family, friends, and colleagues. Dr. Tronick was one of the first researchers to show that babies are profoundly affected by their parents' emotions and behavior via "The Still-Face Experiment." His work, which brought about a foundational shift in our understanding of human development, shows that our highly evolved sense of self makes us separate, yet our survival depends on connection. And so we approximate, iteratively learning about one another's desires and intentions, and gaining confidence in the process as we correct the mistakes and misunderstandings that arise. Working through the volley of mismatch and repair in everyday life helps us form deep, lasting, trusting relationships, resilience in times of stress and trauma, and a solid sense of self in the world. Drawing on Dr. Tronick's research and Dr. Gold's clinical experience, The Power of Discord is a refreshing and original look at our ability to relate to others and to ourselves.

Being understood by someone you love is one of the most powerful feelings, at all ages. For a young child, it is the most important of all experiences because it allows the child's mind and sense of self to grow. In the midst of the perennial concerns parents bring to Dr. Claudia Gold, she shows the magical effect of seeing a problem from their child's point of view. Most parenting books teach parents what to do to solve behavior problems, but Dr. Gold shows parents how to be with a child. Crises are defused when children feel truly heard and validated; this is how they learn to understand, and, eventually, control themselves. Dr. Gold's insightful guide uses new research in developmental psychology and vivid stories from her practice to show parents how to keep a child in mind and deepen this central relationship in their lives.

Claudia M. Gold

Books

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