Freud revolutionized the way in which we think about ourselves. From its beginnings as a theory of neurosis, Freud developed psycho-analysis into a general psychology which became widely accepted as the mode of discussing personality & relationships.

In this book Ronnie Solan traces the way that early psychic development from birth up to three years is reflected throughout our lifespan, including adulthood, couplehood and parenthood. The inner child reverberating within us (consciously and unconsciously) and thus present in our ongoing interactions with others, often colours and guides our current experiences, whether with our life partner or children, and as psychotherapists, with our patients.

Puberty is one of the most important life transitions. At no other time are there such significant transformations in biology, social and psychological development. It also marks a significant separation between the genders. This book focuses on the emergence of gender difference and provides an up-to-date summary of interdisciplinary research.

The superego is one of those psychoanalytic concepts that has been assimilated into ordinary language, like repression, the unconscious and the Oedipus complex. Because it has become such a familiar notion, its complexity may not always be appreciated, nor the controversy that it can inspire. Its origins, for example, its timing in the course of development, whether and how it is influenced by gender all these questions and others have been the source of lively disagreement.

The book discusses personality as a unified set of evolved and culturally developed structures that serves a single and definable purpose, to maintain the individual's safety, in the context of dyadic relationships, group processes and more abstract and fluid social configurations.