Mero Mervi-Marja
Clinic of Child Psychiatry, University Hospital of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
Int J Circumpolar Health. 2002;61 Suppl 2:80-9. doi: 10.3402/ijch.v61i0.17505.
The purpose of psychoanalytic psychotherapy is to help the child to grow and develop normally. Children who are able to play, process their problems in the play. The therapist's role is to engage with the play and verbalize the emotions and the interactions demonstrated in it. This case-presentation illustrates how the child can express and work his inner fears and anxieties in play-situations with the therapist and shows how this interaction helps the child to develop and individuate. Children diagnosed as having Asperger syndrome may have emotional problems, in which case psychoanalytical psychotherapy is one of the means of helping the child and the family.