Ilene Lefcourt's unique experience leading groups for over 35 years with mothers, their babies, and toddlers informs every page. Lefcourt sensitively links mothers' childhood memories with current mother-child interactions, and exquisitely details mothers' unfolding insights. Vivid examples of mothers' memories, with hidden answers to typical questions and concerns, trigger the reader's own memories, self-reflection, and new ideas. The narrative approach of When Mothers Talk speaks directly to the reader and activates an experience similar to being in a supportive mother-baby-toddler group.
Experienced and new mothers, infant mental health students, and experienced professionals will find this original book, grounded in long-established ideas, exceptionally informative and inspiring.
Ilene S. Lefcourt established the Sackler Lefcourt Center for Child Development in 1982. She was the director, led the mother-baby-toddler groups, and provided developmental consultation to parents for over 35 years. She taught child psychiatry residents and parent-infant psychotherapy trainees about her work. She has been a faculty member at the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research Parent-Infant Program since 1995. Ms. Lefcourt is currently in private practice in New York City. She is the author of Parenting and Childhood Memories: A Psychoanalytic Approach to Reverberating Ghosts and Magic and Mother-Baby-Toddler Group Guide: A Psychodynamic Approach.