Am J Psychiatry 1987; 144:1263-1270
Copyright © 1987 by American Psychiatric Association
Clinical implications of adult developmental theory
CA Colarusso and RA Nemiroff
Department of Psychiatry, University of California at San Diego.
Multidisciplinary studies of adulthood have revolutionized thinking about
developmental processes during the second half of life. These ideas are
just beginning to be integrated with clinical theory and practice. The
elaboration of the interface between the rapidly expanding developmental
theory of normal adulthood and clinical intervention with older patients is
a psychiatric frontier. Illustrating with clinical examples, the authors
offer a rationale for using new diagnostic tools, suggest a revision of the
theory of transference to include sources beyond childhood, and describe
unique transference paradigms in older patients as well as equally phase-
specific countertransference responses in their therapists.
