You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
This discussion formed part of a panel presentation at the meetings of Division 39 of the American Psychological Association in New York in April 2017. The current status of our field was the general theme addressed. We are glad to be part of the thinking about various aspects of child and adolescent psychoanalysis in the present moment. We will pose a few questions and raise some points to keep in mind as you read the three presentations and then offer some thoughts at the end. We hope these pieces offer some ideas about the current state of child analysis and some directions for the future.
What happens when we read about treatment? Do we think about our own clients? Will we listen differently next week? These three seasoned clinicians give us a window into how they work and think with children. What feels familiar and what doesn’t? Colleagues in many societies and groups do not often hear child clinical material, which brings us to the next presentation.
Many child analysts have noticed a decreasing focus on and interest in the developmental point of view in psychoanalytic writing and theorizing. We wonder whether and how this is connected with the fact that few groups outside the American Psychoanalytic Association offer child or adolescent psychoanalytic training. Why don’t they offer this training?
We suggest that both child and adolescent analysis are wellsprings for analytic theory and technique in general. Please read these presentations also with an ear to adult clients. What resonates? What is different?