Psychodynamic Treatment of Children with Severe Emotional Disturbances

Dr. Gertrude Pollitt, executive director emerita of the Center for Psychoanalytic Study in Chicago, has had a long and distinguished career as a practicing social worker, clinician, and psychoanalyst, specializing in severely emotionally disturbed children, adolescents, and their parents. Her life’s work as a clinician is further informed by her own experiences as a Holocaust survivor in wartime London and as a director of camps for abandoned and displaced children after the war. Her memoir, Children of Separation and Loss, was published in 2014. She served as teacher and consultant to agencies, schools, and individuals.

This collection is a culmination of the extraordinary life and work of Dr. Gertrude Pollitt and offers an opportunity for both beginning and seasoned clinicians to learn from a master clinician who has worked first hand with the architects of child psychology and play therapy. Dr. Pollitt served as executive director emerita of the Center for Psychoanalytic Study in Chicago and worked in diverse settings and private practice for more than 65 years treating severely disturbed children, adolescents, and adults. In this treatise, Dr. Pollitt integrates and channels the essence and tenets of Anna Freud, Melanie Klein, and D. W. Winnicott and distills complex nuanced clinical concept and treatment approaches with a remarkable clarity and elegance. A survivor of Nazi Austria, Dr. Pollitt draws from the depths of her own traumatic losses, as well as he post-war work with displaced and orphaned children to develop keen empathic attunement with her patients. Moreover, her own resilience and psychotherapeutic skill are evident in her capacity to recognize and nurture the inherent potential in her very disturbed patients. This book offers an unparalleled honor and opportunity to be privy to Dr. Pollitt’s training and treatment room.

• IntroductionForewordAuthor’s StatementAcknowledgementsChapter One: The Implications of Working with Children in Clinical PracticeChapter Two: Child Analysis and Child TherapyChapter Three: Psychodynamics of Play and Play Therapy with ChildrenChapter Four: Anna Freud’s Contribution to Child PsychoanalysisChapter Five: Melanie Klien’s Contribution to Psychoanalysis and Early Childhood Development Chapter Six: The Use of Fantasy Material in the Treatment of a Borderline Psychotic ChildChapter Seven: Containing Rage and Anger in the Developmental ProcessChapter Eight: D.W.Winnicott’s Contribution to Child PsychoanalysisChapter Nine: Separation Trauma in Infancy and Early ChildhoodChapter Ten: Emotional Implications of Young Students with Special NeedsChapter Eleven: School PhobiaAbout the author