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It would be worthwhile to collect similar cases of imaginary companions representing projections of prestages of the superego, because they demonstrate the formation of the superego in slow motion (O. Sperling, 1954, p. 256).
Although a childhood imaginary companion is sometimes recalled during the course of an analysis, more often, an infantile amnesia deletes this memory. I will describe and discuss an adult patient who developed an imaginary companion during the course of his analysis which made it possible to view the process, with the advantage of the patient's articulate and reflective expressions.
Peter had been in treatment with me for three years before his imaginary companion appeared. He was initially referred to me for group therapy by his first therapist, but when she retired six months later, Peter began to see me for individual therapy also. When I first saw Peter he was 28 years old. He said that he needed help in controlling his impulse to seek out prostitutes. He had been seeing prostitutes since he was 18, but this impulse was now getting worse, depleting his earnings. In addition, Peter said he was unhappy at his job as an assembly-line worker. He had been a pre-med student but left college at 21 when his father died. Now, Peter was uncertain about returning to school to study medicine. He preferred to major in creative writing.