Ed Tronick Live Legacy Interview

Why This Event Matters

Ed Tronick’s pioneering research has reshaped our understanding of human development, relationships and resilience. His studies of infant–parent interaction reveal how expectations of relationships are formed, how meaning is co-created, and how rupture and repair build resilience. These early processes reverberate into adulthood, shaping intimacy, conflict, and recovery.

Whether you work with adults, couples, families or children, Ed’s work offers important insights into how early patterns of relating continue to inform later struggles, and how psychotherapy can create new possibilities for change.

About Ed Tronick

Ed Tronick is a Developmental and Clinical Psychologist. He is University Distinguished Professor at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

He is best known for developing the Still-Face Experiment, a landmark study that demonstrated how infants become distressed when a caregiver suddenly withdraws emotional responsiveness. It shows how vital moment-to-moment interaction is for emotional and relational development and remains one of the most widely cited studies in psychology.

In collaboration with T. Berry Brazelton, Ed helped create influential tools such as the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale and the Touchpoints Project, which transformed how clinicians understand infant capacities and parent–infant relationships. Together with Barry Lester, he co-developed the NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale (NNNS), now widely used to assess the neurodevelopment of at-risk newborns.

Ed’s career has been wide-ranging, spanning the microanalysis of infant–parent interaction, maternal depression, the impact of trauma and stress on early development, and cultural perspectives on mental health and care-seeking. More recently, he has investigated infant memory for stress and the epigenetic influences that shape behaviour.

He has published more than 200 scientific articles and four books, and his work continues to influence psychotherapy, paediatrics, neonatology, and policy worldwide.

For his contributions to psychoanalytic thought, Ed received the Sigourney Award in 2022. He is an Honorary Member of the American Psychoanalytic Association and a member of the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute.

Special Guests

Bruce D. Perry

Principal of the Neurosequential Network, Bruce Perry is one of the world’s leading authorities on trauma, neglect and child development. His Neurosequential Model is used internationally in clinical and educational settings. His bestselling books, including The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog and What Happened to You? (with Oprah Winfrey), have brought trauma and resilience science to a wide audience. His research demonstrates how repeated early experiences shape the brain, influencing relationships and mental health throughout life.

Claudia M. Gold

Claudia Gold is a paediatrician and infant mental health specialist whose collaboration with Ed produced the acclaimed book The Power of Discord. Her writing and clinical practice show how moments of mismatch and repair form the basis of resilience. She has worked with families affected by adversity, including those impacted by the opioid crisis and immigrant communities. Claudia’s teaching highlights how understanding early relational life deepens clinical work with adults as well as with children.

What You Will Learn

Participants will gain insights into:

• The Still-Face Experiment and its relevance for psychotherapy with adults and families
• How early interactions shape expectations of relationships across the lifespan
• Why rupture and repair are central to resilience in both childhood and adulthood
• The developmental roots of emotional regulation
• The impact of trauma and neglect on brain development and relational life
• Cultural perspectives on depression and care-seeking
• How culture influences the lived experience of depression
• Practical applications of developmental science in therapeutic settings

About MINDinMIND

MINDinMIND events offer distinctive conversations with leaders in psychology and psychotherapy, weaving together professional insight with the personal stories behind their life’s work. Founded by Jane O’Rourke, psychotherapist and former BBC producer, our Legacy Interviews create thoughtful and moving explorations of the lives and ideas shaping our field. In this conversational format, ideas unfold in real time, often in surprising and deeply engaging ways, offering audiences a rare opportunity to listen in on exchanges with some of the most influential figures in psychology and psychotherapy.

The event will be hosted by Jane O’Rourke.

She creates rich, multi-layered conversations through carefully crafted live interviews with luminaries such as Arietta Slade, Anne Alvarez, Alicia Lieberman, Beatrice Beebe, Patrick Casement, and Miriam Steele. MINDinMIND’s in-depth approach helps to create a special feel to our live events, producing original, thoughtful and at times deeply moving conversations with our visionary legacy interviewees. We deepen these conversations with the inclusion of special guests chosen by our interviewees for the support or inspiration they have offered over their careers, creating a rich, multi-faceted exploration of their work and ideas—bringing to life not just the clinical work but the person behind it as well.

MINDinMIND has no income stream, and we depend on donations and ticket sales to keep putting out content like our Legacy Interviews.

Please do get in touch if you are living and working in a Low Income country as we have special discount codes available.

If you are experiencing financial hardship and wish to attend we have a number of sponsored tickets:

contact@mindinmind.org.uk

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