Child Psychoanalysis
WHAT IS CHILD PSYCHOANALYSIS?
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Psychoanalysis is a form of psychotherapy conducted 3 or 4 times a week. The goal is the restoration of healthy progressive development so children can achieve their full potential. This approach is not a quick fix, instead, it helps the child or adolescent to overcome troubles and delays while building deep, long-lasting strength and resilience.
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WHAT IS THE ROLE OF PARENTS AND OTHER ADULTS
Parents are the most important figures in a child’s life and play a crucial role in psychoanalytic treatment. I often tell parents, “Without you, I can’t do my job.” Their involvement helps me better understand and support the child.
Other adults, especially teachers, are also key. While I don’t discuss session content with them, teachers offer valuable insight into the child’s behavior, focus, social interactions, and relationship with authority figures—things I can’t always observe directly.
I believe every parent wants to be a good parent, though they may need help understanding their child’s emotional world. Emotional disturbances in children and teens are complex, and understanding them is essential for healthy development.
While child psychoanalysis is more common in Europe and Latin America, it’s less accepted in the U.S., often due to lack of awareness and the emotional and financial investment it requires. Treatment typically involves 3 to 5 sessions per week, but the benefits can be life-changing.
For more information, visit www.drboscan.com, the American Psychoanalytic Association at www.apsaa.org, the International Psychoanalytic Association (IPA), or the Association for Child Psychoanalysis (ACP).
WHO IS A CHILD PSYCHOANALYST
Child psychoanalysts are highly trained and experienced professionals, and beyond their initial education and training, psychoanalysts compete additional years of education and training, b anywhere between 5 and 10 years after a doctoral or medical degree. The goal of a child analyst is the modification of psychological roadblocks so children and adolescents can achieve their full potential. In other words my job is to put development back on track.
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HOW DO WE DO PSYCHOANALYSIS WITH CHILDREN?
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In the analyst’s consulting room, younger children usually play with toys, such as puppets, animals, toy cars and houses, or draw, paint, or model with clay, as they talk. Words, play, and activity are ways children express their inner world. Children play and adolescents talk.
Whatever activity they choose to express their emotions, the analyst is there to listen and understand, and to share this understanding with the child or adolescent. The latter part is what makes psychoanalysis unique. Psychoanalysts are able to help children and adolescents verbalize problems in a way that they were unable to do on their own.
The other very important component to psychoanalysis is that exploring the relationship with the psychoanalysts and its similarity to important family relationships can free the child from acting on his or her feelings and allow more intentional, self-directed action and growth.