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He who ventures to accompany the borderline or psychotic child into the terrain of his inner world will find his journeys beset with many special hazards and bewildering phenomena. We refer not to the fluid landscape or to the archaic figures which emerge, coalesce and disappear, only to rise again in more monstrous display. For despite the dimness of the landscape, some maps have already been charted and reports of previous travelers are available for aid. However, even the most seasoned traveler will be puzzled by phenomena of arrival and departure in this world of fantasy. Once having communicated his readiness to embark upon these journeys in whatever guise the child requires, the traveler cannot help but wonder at the exact moment and at the startling abruptness with which the voyages commence and terminate. Nor can he help but speculate that a knowledgeable grasp of the time table might provide him not only with more adequate preparation for the journey, but with the means for affecting the course and destination of his young guide as well.
Children whose adjustment is marginally located in their use of both neurotic and psychotic mechanisms are a clinical group described variously as borderline, schizophrenic-like, or severely neurotic. They and psychotic children are subject to marked and frequent fluctuation in ego states, visible in the treatment process. This striking phenomenon