{"title":"‘I caught you!’ Part 1: maturing separateness within the area of mutuality","authors":"S. Levi","doi":"10.1080/0075417X.2022.2037104","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This paper, the first of two parts, aims to highlight the unique contribution that intensive psychoanalytic psychotherapy can make with complex cases where, in the absence of an engagement with another mind, self and ego development have been severely arrested. Intensive therapy with a boy aged four who was diagnosed with autism at the age of two is examined, to illustrate how the mind is both internally driven and relationally responsive. This work illustrates how the experience of analytic mutuality enables the development of the child's mental capacity for representation and symbolic thought, as well as relationality. Autistic encapsulation is understood as a psycho-physical protective reaction, rather than a psychodynamic defence mechanism. Clinical vignettes demonstrate how the therapist gradually emerges in the child's mind as an object to relate to and be made use of, alleviating arrested development and enabling the child to evolve from an almost mute, ‘undrawn’, confused and confusing child, into a latency boy with social, academic and behavioural skills.","PeriodicalId":43581,"journal":{"name":"JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOTHERAPY","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4000,"publicationDate":"2022-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOTHERAPY","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/0075417X.2022.2037104","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
ABSTRACT This paper, the first of two parts, aims to highlight the unique contribution that intensive psychoanalytic psychotherapy can make with complex cases where, in the absence of an engagement with another mind, self and ego development have been severely arrested. Intensive therapy with a boy aged four who was diagnosed with autism at the age of two is examined, to illustrate how the mind is both internally driven and relationally responsive. This work illustrates how the experience of analytic mutuality enables the development of the child's mental capacity for representation and symbolic thought, as well as relationality. Autistic encapsulation is understood as a psycho-physical protective reaction, rather than a psychodynamic defence mechanism. Clinical vignettes demonstrate how the therapist gradually emerges in the child's mind as an object to relate to and be made use of, alleviating arrested development and enabling the child to evolve from an almost mute, ‘undrawn’, confused and confusing child, into a latency boy with social, academic and behavioural skills.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Child Psychotherapy is the official journal of the Association of Child Psychotherapists, first published in 1963. It is an essential publication for all those with an interest in the theory and practice of psychoanalytic psychotherapy and work with infants, children, adolescents and their parents where there are emotional and psychological problems. The journal also deals with the applications of such theory and practice in other settings or fields The Journal is concerned with a wide spectrum of emotional and behavioural disorders. These range from the more severe conditions of autism, anorexia, depression and the traumas of emotional, physical and sexual abuse to problems such as bed wetting and soiling, eating difficulties and sleep disturbance.