"Fathers and Their Families is an essential companion volume to Father and Child. It brings into operational perspective the rich complexity of influences and interaction necessary for understanding the variety of roles fathers play in the dynamics of today's family. There is always an ongoing tension and unavoidable confrontation between traditional models and new roles as the clinician searches for an understanding of the individual. The perspective on fathers given in this volume, arising as it does from a consideration of development as a life-span process of ongoing interactions within the context of a specific and unique interactive system, brings an appreciation of that variation, in both individuals and group systems, that defines individual uniqueness. The contributors bring a brilliant new depth and richness to our conceptualization of the father in the family - one that the reader cannot escape and the clinician cannot be without."- Louis Sander, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry, Emeritus, University of Colorado"This scholarly book extends the research of this pioneering group into an area whose importance has become increasingly clear at psychoanalytic research seminars over the past decade: the role of fathers in psychological structure formation. It contains rich clinical and research material showing how developmental failures may result from either the loss of the father or the excessive devaluation of him. It addresses timely, essential questions: How can the oedipal phase be resolved in fatherless families? In the absence of a father, how can the young girl or boy experience the gleam in the father's eye that is so necessary to the formation of core identity? Such theoretical reflections grow out of a recent emphasis on the father's unique contributions to the psychological development of his offspring. And such reflections, in turn, are crucial to our expanding knowledge of psychological development across the life cycle. Finally, the reevaluation of the father's role within the family may promote greater success in therapy. On all these counts, we are indebted to Cath, Gurwitt, Gunsberg, and the contributors to Fathers and Their Families for their cogent contribution to a new area of scientific inquiry."- Theodore B. Cohen, M.D., Chairman, Vulnerable Child Discussion Group, American Psychoanalytic Association"[T]his large and comprehensive book is a clear exposition of the current understanding of the father's dynamic influence on the child, both in direct relation to the child and in relation to the family system. . . . It is a must for all mental health professionals who work with men."- Journal of Clinical Psychiatry