| Abstract: | A psychoanalytically oriented nonverbal technique was developed to help four withdrawn infants. In three of the four cases, treatment began in the first year of life. Each case presents a different combination of infant/caregiver difficulties that contributed to the infant's withdrawal. After analysis of the difficulties in the infant's first relationship, appropriate preverbal sensory experiences served as a means to establish communication between mother and infant. Regression to the newborn stage gave mother and child a chance to reexperience the earliest stages of infancy. This process led to the recovery of the failing primary bond between mother and child and enabled the infants to compensate for constitutional deficits that prevented adequate attachment. Very early recognition and treatment of some mother-infant attachment disorders may prevent emotional withdrawal, functional retardation, and failure to form meaningful relationships. |
