TOY STORIES: THE CHILD ANALYST AT PLAY BETWEEN THE RELATIONSHIP AND INTERPRETATION

Through the illustration of three clinical cases, some theoretical-technical nodal points of "interpreting" in child analysis are discussed: being at play, the inversion of roles, and the assumed difference between the psychoanalysis of children and that of adults. The article's hypothesis is that interpretation is not the only therapeutic agent, but that the analyst's global behavior in the analytic relationship should also be considered therapeutic. Only through his trust in negative capability and in the working through of his own countertransference will the analyst gradually succeed in putting transformative operations into play, which will lead to the formulation of more structured symbolic interventions.