The author discusses his interviews with various family members in the case of an eleven-year-old girl with severe asthmatic attacks, for whom the possibility of a "parentectomy" was being explored. He emphasizes the complex interplay of intrafamilial fantasy life. A psychotherapy that was directed only toward the identified patient would menace the fragile equilibrium of the family as much as the removal of the child from the home. Knowledge of the linkages and relationships within a family is necessary before undertaking a psychotherapeutic action concerning one of its members.