In four collaborative chapters, Kohn (Cincinnati Psychoanalytic Institute) explores in detail the case histories of two juvenile subjects to demonstrate the psychoanalytic process of enabling young children to assemble the elements of a traumatized or fragmented psychic structure into a cohesive self. Isabel, through the reported interaction with her therapist (coauthor Huddleston), eventually becomes able to fully express herself without fear of repercussions. Ella at first lacks the ability to verbalize distress stemming from specific family events that were beyond her immediate understanding but gradually learns to express her basic feelings through role-playing with her analyst (coauthor Kaufman), during which she learns to create meaningful maps or drawings representing the related feelings rather than act out aggressive impulses. In the subsequent nine chapters of the book, Kohn provides nuanced explanations of Freudian and post-Freudian concepts and therapeutic processes as illustrated by the two analyses, creating a useful reference for child psychotherapists, students of developmental psychology, and academic researchers.



Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and practitioners.

Choice Reviews

In this easily readable yet deeply nuanced work, the brilliant analyses of two girls at different levels of psychic structure are presented. The reader is given a wonderful blend of theory and technique, but most importantly the deep humanity of both therapists and children are never out of the limelight. This is a first-rate book for psychodynamic thinkers and clinicians at all levels.

Steven Tuber, PhD, ABPP, City College of New York; author of Attachment, Play, and Authenticity: Winnicott in a Clinical Context and co-author of Starting Treatment with Children and Adolescents

This thoughtful examination by Edward Kohn of two gifted therapists’ analytic work with troubled young girls presenting altogether different levels of psychic structural pathology, his conceptualization of child development and the disorders stemming from the early period of life, and the analysis of this pathology is truly a masterpiece. This volume is a must read for not only child and adolescent analysts but for those who want to better understand their adult analysands.

Cliff Wilkerson, Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute

A tour de force, this book explores the mind of the child and demonstrates how the clinician comprehends it, enters it, and helps it to mend and grow. Huddleston and Kaufman present what appear to be similar children, yet are strikingly different in the ways they are structured and analyzed, bringing the work alive for the reader. Kohn beautifully examines both cases through various lenses and with a depth that adds a significant contribution to our theories of development, relationships, technique, and therapeutic action. This book will appeal to all who work therapeutically with children, as well as adults.

Jill M. Miller, Washington Baltimore Center for Psychoanalysis