Working with parents in child psychoanalysis

Psychology and psychotherapy of children and adolescents

Abstract

Contact with the child’s parents has an important role in child psychoanalysis. The parents are the ones who are worried about their child’s disturbed behaviour and who call in the assistance of the analyst. Treatment of a child is only possible with the parents and concerns not only financial and organizational aspects but also psychical ones. Every child therapy raises a lot of specific emotions in parents that should be treated during the regular meetings. The purpose of these meetings is an understanding of the child’s developmental needs and dealing with the problems of being a parent. Personal issues of parents are avo­ided but can be treated in individual psychotherapy by another analyst. Nevertheless there are particular situations when personal issues of the parents raised in the course of their child’s psychotherapy have to be treated or else the continuation of child’s treatment would be jeopardised. In the article some of these situations are presented within the clinical material.