Problems in female development. Comments on the analysis of an early latency-age girl

A 6 1/2-year-old girl's clinical material relevant to the emergence of clitoral and vaginal masturbation and masturbation fantasies during analytic sessions is presented. The intense genital excitation, which she called "jeebies," often overwhelmed her ego functioning. She assumed the jeebies and the fantasies that precipitated and accompanied them would cause bad things to happen to her. External events and the nature of her object relations reinforced and confirmed her belief that being only female was unacceptable. Her penis envy, a wish to be a boy-girl, had multiple determinants. A detailed description of her evaluation and subsequent treatment reveals how her unconscious conflicts were resolved in analysis through the evolution and resolution of her transference neurosis, validating the psychoanalytic approach.