When Children Become Parents. The Psychodynamics and Psychogenesis of Parentification (2026)

Some children learn too early how to care for others—and too late how to care for themselves.Based on Mark Kinet's The Psychodynamics and Psychogenesis of Parentification, this conversation explores the hidden costs of growing up with responsibilities that belong to adults. The works of Sigmund Freud, Sandor Ferenczi, Michael Balint, Melanie Klein, Donald Winnicott, Wilfred Bion and Jacques Lacan are integrated in systemic thinking and contemporary psychoanalytic perspectives derived from attachment theory, infant research, and neuropsychoanalysis. Two virtual hosts discuss role reversal, emotional parentification, family dynamics, resilience, and vulnerability, showing how childhood experiences can continue to shape adult relationships and psychological well-being.An accessible introduction to one of the most significant yet under-recognised themes in contemporary psychotherapy.Read the book: The Psychodynamics and Psychogenesis of Parentification - 1st EditionVisit ⁠Mark Kinet ⁠for books, articles, and further resources.Current Psychoanalysis brings together more than 35 books and other writings by psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Mark Kinet. Each episode explores how unconscious meaning, personal history, and the therapeutic relationship illuminate psychiatry, psychotherapy, and culture. Two virtual hosts discuss carefully selected texts, translating complex psychoanalytic ideas into clear, engaging conversations while remaining remarkably faithful to the original work. For clinicians, students, and anyone curious about the human mind.