THE REACTION OF AN EARLY LATENCY BOY TO T HE SUDDEN-DEATH OF HIS BABYBROTHER

Surprisingly little has been written on the impact of the death of a b aby on an, older sibling, This paper describes how a narcissistically vulnerable latency boy grappled, in the course of his psychotherapy, w ith the painful loss of his baby brother. Emotional and cognitive with the reality of death are considered. The patient's six theories about the cot death are described. Attention, is drawn to the value of the sibling relationship and to the narcissistic needs which this relation ship fulfilled. The termination phase is discussed in the light of the dynamics of sudden loss. The safe therapeutic context provided the sp ace in which this young, rather muddled latency boy could grieve and m ourn this traumatic loss.