NEUROSIS IN CHILDHOOD AND IN PSYCHOANALYSIS - A DEVELOPMENTAL REFORMULATION

It is widely believed that the transference neurosis, understood as bo th a repetition of the infantile neurosis, and as an opportunity for n ew forms of object relations, is the hallmark of psychoanalysis. Becau se the concept has become caught up in such polemics over the years an d has acquired such a variety of meanings, some call for its abandonme nt; some also call for abandoning the concept of the infantile neurosi s. This paper argues that both these concepts refer to significant cli nical phenomena and so rather than being abandoned, they should be cla rified and redefined in the light of contemporary developmental theory .