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DISCUSSION: Dr. Phyllis Greenacre noted that there is always some overlapping of libidinal phases and that premature activation of one aspect of a phase by special stimulation may cause individual patterning of the normal developing phase. Ruth's standing alone and walking at fourteen and sixteen months put her into a different perceptive relationship to her own body and that of others. Dr. Greenacre stated that in her experience there is some sensitivity to genital excitation in the second year, especially when there has been early traumatization. In her opinion this is not a true early genital phase but is a part of a greater excitation of the entire body to which the genital responds in its own way.
Dr. John McDevitt observed that this child's spurt in development coincided with the practicing subphase of the separation-individuation process described by Mahler, where we see both a stability and instability of object representation. Upon entering the rapprochement phase (sixteen to twenty-four months), we see a regression or re-emphasis of the anal phase due to anxiety brought on by the early genital phase.