Includes bibliographical references and index.

The birth of a human being: what makes us who we are? -- The balancing act : psychodynamic insights -- A sucure base: the importance of attachment -- The emergence of reason: the developing ability to understand --Making connections: ideas from behaviourism -- Who am i going to be? adolescence, identity and change -- Acting like a grown-up: challenges of adulthood -- Access to adulthood : growing up with a disability -- No man is an island: family systems and their life cycle -- It takes a village : a sociological perspective -- Coming to a conclusion: dimensions of old age -- That good night: death, dying and bereavement -- References --Index.