The psychoanalytic process and the development of insight in child analysis: a case study

This paper describes a segment of the analysis of an aggressive latency-age child. The data demonstrate the relationship between the establishment of a psychoanalytic process (the analysis of transference, defense, and resistance), the development and nature of insight in the child, and the resulting therapeutic change. Examination of the process shows that the therapeutic gains were a result of insights acquired by the child, particularly his awareness of painful affects that had been warded off. This case is compared with Bornstein's treatment of a phobic child who manifested severely "out-of-control" behavior.