ABSTRACT
In working psychoanalytically with toddlers and children, the child analyst encounters behaviours, anxiety states, and syndromes that may be said to result from a failure of the early symbolization process. For example, a child may panic and feel distressed when his mother leaves the room, may be unable to sleep, may be terrified of any noise, or may run around the room randomly, unable to focus on an age-appropriate task. Such behaviours may reflect a weakened or absent ability to represent, and so the child may seek to discharge tension via action and behaviour rather than deal with it more productively by playing and dreaming.
