“The brain is an organ sculpted by experience.” In this episode we sit down with Dr Ed Tronick, a pioneer in the field of child psychology and Dr Claudia Gold, a pediatrician expert and advocate for the study of parent-infant mental health.

We have delved into the importance of early experiences before but in this episode we look specifically at one of the most powerful paradigms in child psychology, the Still Face Paradigm, which Dr Tronick discovered. Both Ed and Claudia make powerful arguments for why being able to move from states of mismatch and repair is vital when developing healthy relationships and how this need for repair is wired into babies right from birth.

We also discuss how this paradigm relates to trauma and resilience; and how mental health, development and attachment are so closely related.

You can find Claudia and Ed’s fantastic book The Power Of Discord everywhere where books are sold. On that website you can also access information on the Netflix documentary Babies which features Dr Tronick and also YouTube links showing the Still Face paradigm. Definitely so worth watching!

Find out more about Dr Claudia Gold’s work at claudiamgoldmd.com, where you can also read and sign up for her insightful blog Child in Mind. She has also written other books on this topic including Keeping Your Child In Mind, and The Silenced Child