The authors begin by pointing out that Freud always considered parent-child
relations in ter-rns of the child's psychic development and took little ac
count of the parents' experience of the relationship and its psychic effect
s on them. They recall Freud's distinction between the anaclitic and narcis
sistic modes of relationship and show how these are unconsciously embodied
and enacted in varying proportions in the cases observed in their own clini
cal practice of therapeutic consultations with parents and young children.
After a review of the relevant psychoanalytic literature, the authors prese
nt their concept of the narcissistic scenarios of parenthood, which include
parental projection on to the child, parental counter-identification, a sp
ecific aim and a relational dynamic that is acted out. Depending on the ind
ividual situation, the effects may help to structure the developing psyche
or, if the narcissistic element is excessive, they may be pathological The
authors consider the literature an the application of psychoanalysis to the
rapeutic interventions with parents and children, stressing the technical i
mportance of establishing a therapeutic focus. These ideas are illustrated
by a detailed case history showing the interaction between a mother and a 4
-year-old girl and how it was modified by a short therapy. The differences
between interpretation in this situation and in the classical psychoanalyti
c setting are explained, and the paper ends with some comments on the trans
mission of psychic elements from generation to generation.