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The Developing Mind: How Relationships and the Brain Interact to Shape Who We Are
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Product Description
This book goes beyond the nature and nurture divisions that traditionally have constrained much of our thinking about development, exploring the role of interpersonal relationships in forging key connections in the brain. Daniel J. Siegel presents a groundbreaking new way of thinking about the emergence of the human mind and the process by which each of us becomes a feeling, thinking, remembering individual. Illuminating how and why neurobiology matters, this book is essential reading for clinicians, educators, researchers, and students interested in human experience and development across the life span
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #9551 in Books
- Published on: 2001-10-22
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Paperback
- 394 pages
Features
- ISBN13: 9781572307407
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Editorial Reviews
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 that The Developing Mind will be seen as a milestone work in the future."--Journal of Child 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 Mind boldly 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 regula
'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 is just the right book, on a very hot topic, at just the right time, by just the right author....This is a book to stimulate, illuminate, and drive our understanding of human developmental processes forwards.' - Child Psychology and Psychiatry
About the Author
Daniel J. Siegel received his medical degree from Harvard University and completed his postgraduate medical education at the University of California, Los Angeles, with training in pediatrics, general adult psychiatry, and child and adolescent psychiatry. He has served as a National Institute of Mental Health Research Fellow at UCLA, where he studied family interactions, with an emphasis on how attachment experiences influence emotions, behavioral regulation, autobiographical memory and narrative processes.
Dr. Siegel's clinical activities include work as a child, adolescent, adult, and family psychiatrist. An award-winning educator, he formerly directed the UCLA training program in child psychiatry and is the recipient of the departmental teaching award and several honorary fellowships. He is currently Director of the Center for Human Development in Los Angeles, and Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine. He also serves as Director of Interdisciplinary Studies for the international nonprofit Children's Mental Health Alliance in New York.
Dr. Siegel's integrated developmental approach has led him to be invited to local, national and international organizations to address audiences of educators, lawmakers, parents, public administrators, medical and mental health practitioners, and neuroscientists. His work focuses on how the emotional development of the child and adult can be understood by examining the interface between human relationships and basic biological processes. The overall goal of these educational efforts is to provide a scientifically grounded view of human experience that can help facilitate the development of emotional well-being and psychological resilience across the lifespan.
Customer Reviews
Extraordinary integration of psychology and brain science
As the founding editor of an academic literature review journal, I must say that Siegel's book is a masterpiece. Both the field of developmental psychology and neurobiology are fraught with discrepant theories, but Siegel (professor of psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles) manages to accurately represent the findings in both fields and integrate them in a way that will profoundly affect the way therapists and doctors will view their client's problems. In particular, he shows how our sense of self is intimately interconnected with the development of the brain, the processing of emotional circuits, the construction of cognitive frameworks (the "mind") and our interactions with parents, peers and society. But this book is not for the faint of heart since Siegel presumes the reader has a general understanding of psychodynamic theory.
A brilliant treatise on how the mind develops by a credible author with good writing skills
The essence of this book is captured in its very first paragraph, "the mind emerges at the interface of interpersonal experience and the structure and function of the brain." It goes on to explain how this is so in the various chapters that cover memory, emotion, construction of reality (via internal representations), states of mind, self regulation, interpersonal connection and integration.
The material is dense, but readable for most professionals and many educated laymen. It is particularly good at describing the integrative functions of the prefrontal areas of the brain, how they develop through social interpersonal experience and what the implications are when the right kind of developmental experiences are not present for the mind to develop to its full potential. As such, it considers the role of attachment in shaping the self, future relationships and the ability to manage emotions. The book does a very deep dive around all of these areas.
Dr. Siegel is a good writer and he packs a lot of information into this good in a highly digestible form. The most important points are repeated or mentioned parenthetically. Therefore, you can read this book and pick it up later without losing much in terms of flow. His examples are good and he doesn't sacrifice thick content. In other words, he says just enough to make his point and then moves on.
This book presents a strong argument for an "open-ended" nervous system. This notion is extended to love in another interesting book by three UCSF psychiatrists -- A GENERAL THEORY OF LOVE. Many of the concepts in this latter more accessible book are elaborated upon in detail in the Developing Mind. Lay readers, therefore, may want to start with this title and read The DEVELOPING MIND slowly as a companion text.
What this book doesn't address is the possibility of something that transcends the brain. For this, I would consider looking at THE ATMAN PROJECT by Ken Wilber. This book is more philosophical than scientific, but it presents a plausible model of transpersonal development with a lot of good psychological content. In particular, I like the way that Wilber presents the interior experience of a babies, infants, toddlers, etc. This is something that is not as clear in Dr. Siegel's book. Wilber also brings in our relationship to the physical environment and the entire universe. In short, it's a thought provoking extension to the subject of this review.
The Developing Mind is rigorous and it provides excellent references on every concept. The book hangs together well and it is written in a style that relates concepts back to day-to-day life very well. There are also good summaries of important points and useful quotes that help illustrate critical points.
If you want a quick bedside read, this is most likely not the book for you. However, if you want to understand how the mind develops and are willing to put in your time to contemplate the necessary detail to go beyond superficial explanations, you won't be disappointed. This is also a thoroughly researched and scientifically grounded text.
Some other books to consider that I feel compliment this work are Vital Lies, Simple Truths by Goleman (on the psychology of self deception), The Feeling of What Happens (by Damasio) and Philosophy in the Flesh by Lakoff and Johnson (on the embodied mind). The latter two books are more speculative, but they round out a theory of mind and are thoughtful theories worth exploring. The first book is easier to digest and will also appeal to a lay audience. The latter two challenge our traditional paradigm of the relationship of mind to body.
I can't say enough good things about THE DEVELOPING MIND. I have already read it three times and every time I pick it up I learn something new. It's a must own book for any mental health professional and should be of great interest to physicians particularly psychiatrists and pediatricians.
Paperback Edition of... The Developing Mind: Neurobiology
This is an accessible book. I'm still in the process of reading, but NOTE: This is paperback edition is subtitled differently than the hardback:
The Developing Mind: Toward a Neurobiology of Interpersonal Experience
but the copyright page states these two are the same book. Since the Amazon page for the hardback (innocently) suggests you buy both together to save, I thought I'd point out: Save even more: just buy the paperback edition! Hope this helps prospective readers.
In the meantime, the book confirms what years as a manager in large corporations has lead me to suspect - a healthy work culture affects the business in tangible ways! Still reading...
