A Little Girl’s Recovery: An Analysis of a Six-Year-Old Girl Who Experienced Loss

ABSTRACT This paper will focus on the process of recovery during the analysis of a latency girl referred after the death of her mother, having been expelled from several schools due to aggressive outbursts and early attachment disruptions in her relationship with the father. The intent of this paper is to illustrate the internal conflicts and difficulty with aggression surrounding early traumatic loss of her mother. The inner work on a trauma never ceases and through the transferential process this child was able to reexperience her early relationship with her mother leading to more mature ego development. The analytic work with Katie shows how her integrative capacity allowed for her to mourn.