I am presenting here my experience of working with a troubled youngster in psychoanalytic treatment from ages 7 to 11. First, I will describe the history and unfolding of the analysis to show how the patient changed from a child who could only communicate through play to a self-reflective, equal partner in the analysis. Some examples of our early work together will be given, and some nodal points will be described along the way. Finally I will present in full two sessions that explicate my moment-to-moment clinical thinking. At the time of these two sessions, Larry was in the fourth year of his analysis and was about to turn 11.

This material demonstrates the child analyst's need to shift quickly from action to enactment to verbalization, and back again. I also hope to demonstrate some of the many functions of play, which