Thirty-First Session

Richard looked carefully round the room. He wondered if the Girl Guides had altered anything when they came after Mrs K. and he had left on the previous day. He thought that a few things had been moved; some photographs were changed round and a new stool had been brought in. But then he found with relief that the little robin-postcard was still where it had been.

Mrs K. interpreted that he had been afraid on the previous day of the children being hostile—the intruding babies—but felt reassured that they did not take away his genital, represented by the robin-postcard.

Richard sat down and began to draw; he looked straight at Mrs K., in contrast to the previous day when he had scarcely glanced at her or at the room. He sneezed and said smilingly that a balloon had gone out of him, and wasn't the balloon very glad to get away from him. He began another empire drawing (not reproduced). He asked Mrs K. whether she had been to the cinema last night and wished she had been. He had enjoyed it and would have liked Mrs K. to have been there too. He asked her to pick out the crayons in the colours which represented Daddy, Mummy, Paul, and himself, pushed the toys aside and said he did not like them. He started colouring the drawing and pointed out to Mrs K. that each one had his own country and that Daddy, although black, was very nice and there was no fight. (There was a striking change of mood in comparison to the preceding session; he was now much less tense and anxious.)

Mrs K. interpreted that in contrast to the previous session's drawing where everyone was in bits, this time they all had their own country and none of them had bits in other people's territories. She also pointed out that yesterday's fears referring to the eaten-up bits of the family were increased by the anxieties he felt when he was ill and his throat was sore as well as by his mother's concern about his cold.

Richard had listened attentively and was also looking at Mrs K. wh