This paper gives an account of the developments in the intensive psychotherapy of a seven-year-old boy with global development delay. It also describes the adaptations to technique and the changes in the setting that were required to support the work, which was undertaken in a special school. The importance of the regularity of sessions in helping…

This paper explores Freud's developing thought on brothers and sisters, and their importance in his psychoanalytical writings and clinical work. Freud's work on sibling psychology has been seriously undervalued. This paper aims to give due recognition to Freud's work in this area. (Contains 1 note.)

Despite the fact that it has long been recognised that narcissism can contribute to depression, we have become accustomed to referring to depression mostly in terms of a neurotic disturbance. The author highlights the difference between the narcissistic elements in depression, which is based on guilt, and the graver narcissistic depression, which…

This article explores some of the complexities of psychotherapy with an identical twin. The difficulty of developing in psychotherapy while so much of what is oneself is located in the other twin will also be explored. The use of the countertransference as a therapeutic method will be considered as the young person develops her unique, separate…

The author revisits her experience of supervision with Esther Bick, which took place over 30 years ago. The patient discussed was a seven-year-old boy whose disturbance dated from the very beginning of his life. His difficulties had severe implications for the development of his capacity to feel emotionally contained and for the development of a…

It is well known that psychoanalysis has over the years had a significant impact on the education of children with mental health problems. Its contribution to the theory and practice of mainstream education is less well documented. This paper gives an account of the five-year (1924-1929) history of the Malting House School in Cambridge. The school…

The concept of intersubjectivity may be used to illuminate the way in which we observe and describe many of the interpersonal processes that begin in infancy. The more traditional psychoanalytic ideas of holding and containment, as well as relatively recent concepts such as attunement and reflective function, can be seen as belonging within this…

This paper describes the first two years of intensive psychotherapy with a six-year-old boy diagnosed with autism. I explore the many ways in which he retreated from reality, most frequently by taking refuge inside the maternal body or flying off into an imaginary space world. He fragmented his identity and that of his objects by using the…

This paper focuses on the aspects of a qualitative research project that examines an assessment protocol for the placement of siblings in foster care and/or future adoption. A brief description of the background to the study and the research design is given. Evaluating the material from the quantitative instruments used and the psychotherapeutic…

In this paper I outline some of the ways in which I believe the psychoanalytic traditions in North America and in Great Britain are influencing each other. I identify points of convergence and divergence at this moment in the evolution of psychoanalytic theory and technique. I then point out some of the implications of relational perspectives in…

This paper discusses work with young people during their stay on an NHS psychiatric inpatient unit, especially focusing on the end of treatment and the appropriate timing of discharge into the community. When approaching the end of an admission, various factors are considered that seem particularly relevant to the decision of when a young person…

Starting from the acknowledged gap between research and practice in child psychotherapy, this paper offers an historical perspective on the relation between these two activities, and suggests that qualitative approaches to research may offer new ways of bringing them together. After introducing the fundamental concepts of qualitative analysis,…

This paper offers a way of thinking about the process of parent-infant psychotherapy. I start by outlining some ideas as to what can go awry in troubled parent-infant relationships, and then a way of working with parents with pre-verbal babies. I suggest a model for understanding three interlaced levels at which change might occur if a…

Since Freud's own time, there has been great deal of debate about the most appropriate research methodology for investigating psychoanalytic psychotherapy [Fonagy, "Journal of Child Psychotherapy", 29 (2): 129-136, 2003; Rustin, "Journal of Child Psychotherapy", 29 (2): 137-145, 2003]. The single case study, which has a long tradition both within…

In this article we present a novel method of outpatient care: brief, dynamic mother-infant group psychotherapy with mothers who have substance use problems. In this therapy, substance abuse treatment is part of mental health and parenting interventions. The focus is on preventing disturbance in the mother-infant relationship in this high-risk…