Beyond the dyad: Including the father in separation-individuation

As a result of changes in family role distribution generated by the Women's Movement, many fathers are participating more directly in the care of their infants and young children. To be responsive to this change in the ecology of parenting, clinicians must reconsider and update traditional formulations about fatherhood toward, an expanded theoretical perspective for learning about and helping families. Using Mahler's phases of separation-individuation as an organizing conceptual framework, the author, reviews recent theory and empirical findings regarding the role of the father in preoedipal development and discusses some implications for social work practice.