ArticlesThe following articles were written by Aaron Lederer on the effect of failed attachment on the child's behavior Article 1
The Unwanted Child Disorders originating in the first two to three years of life stem from deficiencies in the infant's contact with the primary provider, usually the mother. Clients who carry these early deficits cannot have rewarding, close relationships. They believe they are unwanted and fundamentally unlovable. Early in their lives, many of them made certain specific internal structural adjustments to best survive in their deficient environments. These adjustments and their consequences are identified and explained, and transactional analysis treatment to obtain the necessary restructuring is outlined. Article 2
The Unwanted Child Narcissistic Defense In this article, the narcissistic defense is presented from the perspective of Spotnitz's (1985) modern psychoanalysis, followed by a description of its second-order structural analysis correlate and a discussion of transactional analysis as a treatment to resolve this defense. Article 3
The Unwanted Child's Narcissistic Defense Revisited A recent article discusses a type of client referred to as the "Unwanted Child," whose injury originated in infancy and who characteristically cannot discharge his aggression toward the source of the frustration. Instead, these clients attack themselves, sometimes with dire consequences. This phenomenon is known in the modern psychoanalytic literature as the "narcissistic defense." This article proposes that there is an important survival aim to the self-attack: to provide stimulation for the abandoned infant within and to keep it from deteriorating into marasmus and death. Article 4
On the Failure to Attach I was three years old when my small family was ambushed by a band of Arabs. My father was killed, and my mother was carried away to a hospital, not to return for many years. Having physically survived, I was sent to a nearby kibbutz for foster care and was placed with a group of children my age. Everyone was sympathetic and kind, but I would not be consoled. My world had ended: I had lost my beloved father and mother, and nothing mattered to me. I was alone in the world. I imitated the other kids as I went through the motions of day-to-day living, but, afraid and alienated, I felt estranged from everyone around me. |