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Developmental forces and termination in child analysis
The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis
|January 1, 1988
Summary
Child psychoanalysis requires considering developmental assessment and forces for successful treatment. Unrealistic expectations and conflicts can prolong analysis, with termination involving mourning for child and analyst.
Area of Science:
- Psychoanalysis
- Child Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Revisiting Sigmund Freud's "Analysis Terminable and Interminable" (1937) through the lens of child analysis.
- Emphasizing the critical role of developmental assessment and forces in psychoanalytic treatment.
Observation:
- Explores goals and success criteria for child psychoanalysis.
- Identifies factors leading to interminable analyses: unrealistic expectations, parental/analyst conflicts.
- Examines mourning processes for child and analyst during termination.
Findings:
- Case study of a 5-year-old boy's stuttering analysis highlights termination complexities.
- Connects termination to developmental progression, transference neurosis resolution, and analytic function.
- Discusses the intuitive, shared sense of timing for termination among child, analyst, and parents.
Implications:
- Informs psychoanalytic practice regarding developmental considerations in treatment duration.
- Provides insight into managing termination challenges and expectations in child analysis.
- Suggests a nuanced understanding of "interminable" analyses, incorporating developmental and relational factors.