Ed Tronick

Claudia M. Gold

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

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. '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

Internationally recognized as one of the premier researchers on child development, Ed Tronick has held notable teaching positions and conducted vital research for nearly 30 years. Over the course of his esteemed career, he has received funding for hundreds of key studies in the US and abroad on normal and abnormal infant and child development—including his Mutual Regulation Model and Still-Face Paradigm, which revolutionized our understanding of infants’ emotional capacities and coping—all of which led to critical contributions in the field. Much of his work serves as the benchmark for how mental health clinicians think about biopsychosocial states of consciousness, the process of meaning making, and how and why we engage with others in the world. Now, for the first time, Tronick has gathered together his most influential writings in a single, essential volume. Organized into five parts—(I) Neurobehavior, (II) Culture, (III) Infant Social-Emotional Interaction, (IV) Perturbations: Natural and Experimental, and (V) Dyadic Expansion of Consciousness and Meaning Making—this book represents his major ideas and studies regarding infant-adult interactions, developmental processes, and mutual regulation, carefully addressing such questions as: What is a state of consciousness? What are the developing infant’s capacities for neurobehavioral self-organization? How are early infant-adult interactions organized? How can we understand the nature of normal versus abnormal development? How do self and mutual regulation relate to developmental processes? Is meaning making purely a function of the brain, or is it in our bodies as well? As a bonus, the book includes a DVD-ROM, with video clips of Tronick’s Still-Face Paradigm, an invaluable teaching aid. Please note that the ebook version of this title does not include a CD.

The Neurobehavioral and Social-Emotional Development of Infants and Children (Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology)

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

Livio Provenzi

Rosario Montirosso

Risk and Protective Factors Associated with Early Adversity and Development: Evidence from Human and Animal Research

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.

Bruce D. Perry

Stephen Seligman

Kristie Brandt

Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health: Core Concepts and Clinical Practice is a groundbreaking book that provides an overview of the field from both theoretical and clinical viewpoints. The editors and chapter authors -- some of the field's foremost researchers and teachers -- describe from their diverse perspectives key concepts fundamental to infant-parent and early childhood mental health work. The complexity of this emerging field demands an interdisciplinary approach, and the book provides a clear, comprehensive, and coherent text with an abundance of clinical applications to increase understanding and help the reader to integrate the concepts into clinical practice. Offering both cutting-edge coverage and a format that facilitates learning, the book boasts the following features and content: A focus on helping working professionals expand their specialization skills and knowledge and on offering core competency training for those entering the field, which reflects the Infant-Parent Mental Health Postgraduate Certificate Program (IPMHPCP) and Fellowship in Napa, CA that was the genesis of the book. Chapters written by a diverse group of authors with vastly different training, expertise, and clinical experience, underscoring the book's interdisciplinary approach. In addition, terms such as clinician, therapist, provider, professional, and teacher are intentionally used interchangeably to describe and unify the field. Explication and analysis of a variety of therapeutic models, including Perry's Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics; Brazelton's neurodevelopmental and relational Touchpoints; attachment theory; the Neurorelational Framework; Mindsight; and Downing's Video Intervention Therapy. An entire chapter devoted to diagnostic schemas for children ages 0--5, which highlights the Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood: Revised (DC:0-3R). With the release of DSM-5, this chapter provides a prototypical crosswalk between DC:0-3R and ICD codes. A discussion of the difference between evidence-based treatments and evidence-based practices in the field, along with valuable information on randomized controlled trials, a research standard that, while often not feasible or ethically permissible in infant mental health work, remains a standard applied to the field. Key points and references at the end of each chapter, and generous use of figures, tables, and other resources to enhance learning. The volume editors and authors are passionate about the pressing need for further research and the acquisition and application of new knowledge to support the health and well-being of individuals, families, and communities. Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health: Core Concepts and Clinical Practice should find a receptive audience for this critically important message.

Ed Tronick

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