This paper was stimulated by the experience over the past two years of initiating treatment with several young children. Although each child readily engaged in play with symbolic representation, I found it very difficult to involve them in the kind of mutual exploratory, increasingly verbal uncovering process that can so delightfully characterize therapy with children. These children mostly ignored or staunchly rejected comments aimed at shaping toward preconscious and conscious understanding the symbolic and affective content of their play. I thought of these children as being unable to form the usual working or therapeutic alliance. As I puzzled over this experience, I realized that it was not new. From time to time throughout my professional life, my therapeutic zeal has been frustrated by such children.

Respecting the need of these children for autonomy in fending off what they clearly experienced as unwanted intrusion, I moderated my therapeutic interventions while maintaining the analytic