Coleman describes the treatment of a case of phobia in which the patient experienced anxiety when placed alone in unfamiliar surroundings. The anxiety is due to a lack of ego development resulting from the mother's actively inhibiting the growth of the patient's autonomy. Coleman attributes the anxiety to a prestructural conflict and acknowledges that some authors would not see this as a phobia per se. He demonstrates the effectiveness of twice weekly psychotherapy. The ego growth of the patient is depicted up to the point where, after four years of treatment, the patient was about to undergo analysis with the author. At that point, the patient had begun to experience and focus on genital and oedipal conflicts in her present life, transference, and dreams.