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This paper will review the history and treatment of a 10-year-old girl referred to the Karen Horney Clinic after the violent murder of her mother. The paper will focus on how the child works through two parallel developments. One development is the child's bereavement reaction to trauma, and the other involves the intrapsychic conflicts aroused in the child by the trauma. The case will be analyzed using Karen Horney's theory of neurotic and constructive development. A theoretical emphasis will be placed on the concepts of basic anxiety, basic conflict, and the child's early attempt for psychic unity. Using Horney theory, I will formulate and apply my beliefs about the process of constructive and pathological identification in the bereaved child. Finally I will discuss what aspects of the therapeutic relationship influenced the growth process of a traumatized and deprived young girl.
Josie is a 10-year-old girl whose mother was brutally murdered by Josie's stepfather. At the time of the murder Josie was locked in her room with her half-sister. She was aware of the fighting in the next room, but did not witness the actual shooting. Several hours after the incident, the stepfather unlocked the door to the children's room. Josie began crying when she saw her stepfather's blood stained shirt. She later learned the traumatic details of her mother's death.
Josie was taken into the custody of her natural father, who was living in a drug rehabilitation program. He had remained drug free for 18 months. In spite of his history of drug abuse and incarceration, he took some interest in the well-being of his daughter. He made arrangements for Josie to be cared for by a woman friend and visited her on a regular basis. Josie's half-sister was placed in foster care.
Several weeks after the murder, Josie manifested the following symptoms: frequent nightmares, lack of appetite, expression of responsibility for her mother's death, and social withdrawal. In addition the school psychologist