Narrative of a Child Analysis

Book excerpt: Melanie Klein gives a detailed account of the analysis of a ten year old boy, Richard. Klein describes the day to day course of the analysis interpreting Richard`s drawing, play, verbal associations and reports of dreams. Also included is the reproduction of the drawings made by the patient, the analysis of which is elaborated in this text. This fascinating and deeply instructive case study shows the fluctuations which characterise a psycho-analysis and reveals the dynamics of the steps which eventually lead to progress in treatment. In a series of notes accompanying the clinical description, Melanie Klein comments upon the clinical material, linking the actual instances to more theoretical conclusions. In doing so, she has provided an invaluable guide to the technique of psycho-analysing children.