Margaret Mahler

Margaret Mahler was a Hungarian-American psychiatrist known for her work in child development and psychoanalysis. She proposed the "separation-individuation" theory, which describes how infants progress from being dependent on their mothers to becoming independent individuals. Her research highlighted the critical phases of this development, including how children explore their environment and establish their identity. Mahler’s insights contributed significantly to our understanding of emotional and psychological growth in early childhood, emphasizing the importance of healthy mother-child relationships in fostering a child's sense of self. Her work remains influential in psychology and child development studies.