The analysis of a child is different from that of an adult.
The author, an analyst with extensive experience working with children of different ages, identifies two main differences: 1) the state of the child’s dependence on parents, the analyst cannot confine himself to understanding the inner life of his patient, since the latter fits into the inner life of his parents and into the mental balance of the family as a whole ; 2) the main tool for expressing experiences in an adult is language, and the child expresses his affects, fantasies and conflicts through play, drawings, bodily manifestations. This requires a «specific effort of understanding» from the analyst. A prerequisite for successful treatment is created by a technique that consists of answers to many “technical” questions (when and how much to meet with parents, whether to allow the child to take away the drawings made during the session, how to respond to his aggression …).
Institute for Humanitarian Research, 176 p.