The Psychoanalytic milieu of Margaret S. Mahler and childhood development

The separation-individuation process is Margaret Mahler’s key contribution to the field of developmental psychoanalysis. As a framework of early childhood development, it describes the emergence of a child’s autonomous sense of self in relation to the emotional availability of a primary caregiver. Over two decades of observations led Mahler to conclude that these factors interact to influence the trajectory of a child’s mood regulation skills and frustration tolerance, among other domains of functioning involved in psychopathology. This paper discusses Mahler’s original research in its proper historical context and argues for its relevance to clinical psychology today. By way of introduction, an autobiographical sketch reveals deeply personal motivations for Mahler’s entrance to pediatric medicine, and later to child analysis. A literature review focuses on her major revisions to classical psychoanalytic concepts, such as the body ego and the self-object representation, and explains how they informed her theoretical approach to the infant-caregiver relationship. Mahler’s conclusions have stimulated an entire literature of disagreement and debate, so this paper concludes by reviewing a small sample of studies that demonstrate the clinical utility of using a separation-individuation framework for understanding personality development throughout the lifespan