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Andrew, a 15-year-old, convinced his parents and the consulting psychiatrist that it would be best not to resort to his hospitalization, even though his anxiety was overwhelming and his symptoms quite disturbing They settled instead on psychotherapy. Andrew's psychosis was evident to all who knew him. In high school, he had developed the habit of cutting locks off lockers, bringing them home, and sleeping with them under his covers. He also systematically returned to one same store to break a precise number of goods—always the same ones at the same place In school, he was easily recognized as the boy who kept up conversation with his two hands, which he named Blindé and Blindette.
During his bi-weekly sessions, Andrew explained to the psychotherapist that he was a robot built of indestructible metal plates. He described at great length the internal function of his electronic parts and electrical wiring At one point early in the psychotherapy, after having started to act out violently during the sessions—screaming, destroying play material, and even breaking a chair—Andrew started talking insistently about the resistance and varying calibration of electrical wiring. He also wanted to know the calibre of his psychotherapist. Only partially satisfied with the interpretation of his concern for the therapist's capacity to resist his violent thoughts and behaviour, Andrew replied that he already knew the answer to his question: “You're a 14-calibre.” Andrew went on to explain that after