The first discussion of the clinical work of Frances Tustin, this book considers her place in the tradition of psychoanalytic theory and thinking and the relevance and application of her work in other areas, such as learning disability. A clear picture of Tustin's position emerges for the reader as author Sheila Spensley elucidates key terms and concepts, showing how they link with much of Bion's work and with more recent contributions by Grotstein and Ogden.

Spensley draws on her breadth of experience in psychotherapy with both children and adults to add her own insights to the seminal findings of Frances Tustin. Examining autism from an evolutionary and biological point of view, she considers the possibility of autism as a "missing link" in the developmental chain of psychic growth and points to findings in autism which offer suppporting evidence for autistic "black holes" in adults.

Frances Tustin is about the life and work of an outstanding clinician whose understanding of autistic and psychotic children has illuminated the relationship between autism and psychosis. It offers the reader a fresh perspective on the importance of her contribution to our understanding of the development of the human mind.