Arminda Aberastury’s Theory and Technique of Child Analysis

Arminda Aberastury’s Theory and Technique of Child Analysis contains a selection of original chapters written by Arminda Aberastury that are each accompanied by a commentary from leading contemporary child analysts to show the continuing global relevance of Arminda’s mid-century work in Argentina. The commentaries are written by authors from all over the world, namely Minnie Dastur, Judith Edwards, Jeanne Magagna, Elizabeth Palacios, Joaquín Pichon-Rivière, Nydia Lisman Pieczanski, Jill Savege Scharff, David E. Scharff, Lea Sofer de Setton, Alan Sugarman, and Virginia Ungar. The book is further enriched by an editorial introduction, Foreword by Virginia Ungar, and personal reminiscences from Arminda’s son, Joaquín Pichon-Rivière.

Arminda is a woman whose voice needs to be heard. She was at the forefront of developing child psychoanalysis in Argentina and created an interdisciplinary approach that influenced other professionals working with children in fields as diverse as pediatrics, pediatric dentistry, law, and education. The impact of her work spread to all over Latin America. This book demonstrates her growth as a child analyst, moving from a Freudian perspective closer to a Kleinian view of the stages of infant development, assisted by her correspondence with Melanie Klein. Within, she provides a summary of Anna Freud and Melanie Klein’s approaches to child analysis and examples of her own continuing research throughout her career. The book is packed full of interesting theoretical concepts and case studies that detail her clinical technique and demonstrate her sensitivity and compassion in her work with children. It is illustrated with black and white photographs of Arminda and line drawings from her work. 

Jill Savege Scharff and Lea Sofer de Setton have performed a profound service to the field of child psychoanalysis by bringing Arminda Aberastury to a whole new audience. Her work will inspire a whole new generation of child psychoanalysts and other professionals working with children.

Jill Savege Scharff, MD, FABP, is co-founder of the International Psychotherapy Institute (IPI); founding chair and a supervising child and adult psychoanalyst in its analytic and child training programs; a member of the American Psychoanalytic Association (APsA) and the International Psychoanalytical Association (IPA); clinical professor of psychiatry at Georgetown University School of Medicine; author, editor, and series editor of books on object relations theory, psychoanalytic child, couples, and family therapy, and teleanalysis; in private practice in Chevy Chase, MD; and recipient of the Sigourney Award 2021. Her latest book is An Introduction to Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (in English, Karnac, 2024 and in Chinese, in press, 2025).

Lea Sofer de Setton, PhD, is a training analyst, member of the International Psychoanalytical Association (IPA), American Psychoanalytic Association (APsA), and Federation of Psychoanalytic Societies of Latin America (FEPAL); faculty member of the International Psychotherapy Institute (IPI) and supervising analyst at the International Institute of Psychoanalytic Training (IIPT) at IPI, Bethesda, Maryland; former chair of IPI-Panama; former faculty member of the Doctoral Program at the Catholic University in Panama; founding member and chair of the Panamanian IPA Provisional Psychoanalytic Society; coeditor of The Linked Self in Psychoanalysis: The Work of Enrique Pichon-Riviere; and a psychologist, psychoanalyst, and psychotherapist in private practice with individuals, couples, and families in Panama City, Panama R.P.