This original book shows how 'infant observation' creates a greater capacity for tolerating stress and for reflective practice- qualities much needed by today's beleaguered social workers and mental health professionals. The riveting examples of observation in richly vivid settings, from a new-born baby, to a mosque, to a dementia care home, enable the reader to think about the feelings and defences stirred up by work, or just being, in many settings. This wider context makes a valuable link between contemporary sociology and psychoanalytic thinking - Dr Dilys Daws, Hon Consultant Child Psychotherapist, Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trust, previously Founding Chair of the Association for Infant Mental Health-UK