The reactive and adaptive responses of parents to their overtly psychotic children are described and an attempt is made to reconstruct the specific mother/infant interactions contributing to the development of different types of childhood psychosis. The concepts of 'maternal structure' and of 'delusional primary maternal preoccupation' are found to be relevant in this context. These considerations throw light on some aspects of countertransference encountered by workers in this field and of creative search in general.

Whilst exploring parental psychology and psychopathology this paper attempts to outline the psychodynamic environment of the psychotic child at the various stages of his life and dis–ease. It emphasizes the value of the psycho analytical approach as a guide in such an exploration and as a source of hope for better understanding and more effective interventions, both therapeutic and prophylactic.