SCHELLINSKI, KRISTINA E. Individuation for Adult Replacement Children: Ways of Coming into Being. Abingdon, Oxon & New York: Routledge. 2019. Pp. 228. Pbk. ￡29.99.

摘要

I was fortunate to be present when Kristina Schellinski launched her book in London, at the Society of Analytical Psychology, and I was struck by the significance of her main thesis that some adult patients discover that they are what she calls 'replacement children', often identified with a previous child who has died or who is missing. This condition presents with some recognizable symptoms that may delay personal development and hinder the capacity for these adults to feel that they are fully alive and can live a creative life. Since noting the influence of the book on my own clinical work, I wonder if the title and definition of a replacement child may be too narrow. A child may have been designated in a parent's mind for a particular purpose, not necessarily after the death of a previous child, and these children are compelled to identify with the role. So Schellinski's ideas are relevant to a broader range of patients than her title would suggest.