ChA. 10: Theoretical and Technical Aspects of Child Analysis
Instructors
Section 1: Gabrielle Silver, M.D. and Lee Ascherman, M.D.
Section 2: Alexander Kalogerakis, M.D. and Pamela Meersand, Ph.D.
Section 3: TBD
September 11 – November 20, 2026 (Section I)
8:35 – 10:00 pm
January 8 – March 26, 2026 (Section II)
8:35 – 10:00 pm
April 9 – June 18, 2023 (Section III)
8:35 – 10:00 pm
No class: 10/2, 11/27, 1/29, 3/5, 5/14
CLICK HERE for Zoom link if you are attending class remotely
Course Description
This course is given in partnership with the child analysis programs of Columbia and PANY. It is a basic course in the theory and technique of child analysis and will cover the indications for child analysis, the role of parents, the use of play, defense analysis and other techniques of interpretation. Transference and its handling, the interpretation of dreams, manifestations of resistance will also be addressed. There will also be time to consider the modification of technique according to the maturational age of the patient.
Educational Objectives: Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:
- Apply child-analytic criteria to diagnose and identify children who are suitable for child psychoanalytic treatment.
- Distinguish the difference between adult psychoanalytic technique and child analytic technique.
Evaluation Method
Each student’s participation in class discussion and his or her demonstration of understanding of the course objectives and reading material is assessed in a written evaluation by the instructor(s).
These articles are protected under relevant copyright regulations. They are available in the New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute Electronic Reserve for your convenience, and for your personal use.
CLICK HERE for Zoom link if you are attending class remotely
JUMP TO:
Section II
Section I
READINGS FOR SECTION I IN 2025 ARE CONFIRMED
I. Introduction to General Principles
CLASS 1: September 11, 2025
REQUIRED READINGS
Abrams, S. (1988). The Psychoanalytic Process in Adults and Children. Psychoanal. St. Child, 43:245-261.
Winnicott, D.W. (1963). Dependence in Infant Care, in Child Care, and in the Psycho-Analytic Setting Int. J. Psycho-Anal., 44:339-344
Ferro, A., Basile, R. (2006). Unity of Analysis: Similarities and Differences in the Analysis of Children and Grown-ups. Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 75:477-500
SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS
Ritvo, S. (1978). The Psychoanalytic Process in Childhood. Psychoanal. St. Child, 33:295-305.
Anthony, E.J. (1982). The Comparable Experience of a Child and Adult Analyst. Psychoanal. St. Child, 37:339-366
Chused, J.F. (1990). Chapter 3: How Clinical Work with Children Can Inform the Therapist of Adults. Child and Adolescent Analysis: Its Significance for Clinical Work with Adults , 37-54
II. History of Child Psychoanalysis
CLASS 2: September 18, 2025
REQUIRED READINGS
Anthony, E. J. (1986) The Contributions of Child Psychoanalysis to Psychoanalysis. Psychoanalytic Study of the Child 41:61-87
Chused, J. F. (2007) Little Hans “Analyzed” in the Twenty-First Century. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association 55:767-778
SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS
Klein, M. (1932). “Psychoanalytic Foundations of Child Analysis,” The Psychoanalysis of Children, 1954, Hogarth Press, 23-64. (Read pp. 40-52)
Sugarman, Alan 2025 ; The Best of Times, The Worst of Times: A Century of Child Psychoanalysis
Brinich, P. (2015). “Looking Back–and Forward–at The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child”. Psychoanal. Study Child (89): 3-31
III. Assessing the Parents’ and the Child’s Needs and Suitability for analysis
CLASS 3: September 25, 2025
REQUIRED READINGS
Freud, A. (1965) Assessment of Pathology, Part I; Some General Considerations. The Writings of Anna Freud, Vol. VI, pp 108-138.
Rosenbaum, A. L. (1994) The Assessment of Parental Functioning: A Critical Process in the Evaluation of Children for Psychoanalysis. Psychoanalytic Quarterly 63:466-490
SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS
Bernstein, I. (1958).The Importance of Characteristics of the Parents in Deciding on Child Analysis. JAPA, 6: 73-78
Kennedy, H., Moran, G. (1991). Reflections on the Aim of Child Analysis. Psychoanal. St. Child, 46:181-198.
IV. Technique and Therapeutic Action
CLASS 4: October 9, 2025
REQUIRED READINGS
Ablon, S.L. (2001). The Work of Transformation: Changes in Technique since Anna Freud’s Normality and Pathology in Childhood. Psychoanal. St. Child, 56:27-38.
Abrams, S. and Solnit, A.J. (1998). Coordinating Developmental and Psychoanalytic Processes: Conceptualizing Technique. J. Amer. Psychoanal. Assn., 46(1):85-103.
Neely, C. (2020). The Developmental Object and Therapeutic Action. Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 73:109-118.
V. Play
CLASS 5: October 16, 2025
REQUIRED READINGS
Neubauer, P.B. (1987). The Many Meanings of Play—Introduction. Psychoanal. St. Child, 42:3-9.
Neubauer, P. (1993). Playing: Technical implications. Pp 44-53 in The Many Meanings of Play: A Psychoanalytic Perspective, Solnit, A., et al, eds., Yale University Press.
Olden, C. (1953) On Adult Empathy with Children. Psychoanalytic Study of the Child 8:111-126
SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS
TBD
VI. Play – continued
CLASS 6: October 23, 2025
REQUIRED READINGS
Joseph, B. (1998) Thinking about a Playroom. J.Child Psychother, 24: 359-366.
Ablon, S. L. (2001) Continuities of Tongues: A Developmental Perspective on the Role of Play in Child and Adult Psychoanalytic Process. Journal of Clinical Psychoanalysis 10:345-365
Yanof, J. (1996) “Language, Communication, and Transference in Child Analysis: II. Is Child Analysis Really Analysis?” JAPA, 44(1), 100-116.
VII. Variations in working with children (eg technology)
CLASS 7: October 30, 2025
REQUIRED READINGS
Barrett, D. M. & Miller, J. M. (2021). Introduction – Analytic Work in the Pandemic. Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 74:16-17.
Sehon, C. (2021). Technology as a Play Object in Teleanalysis with Young Children. Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 74:26-43.
VIII. Dreams in Child Analysis
CLASS 8: November 6, 2025
REQUIRED READINGS
Anzieu-Premmereur, Christine. (2016). ‘Prologue: Psychoanalytic Work with the Dreams of Children: The Forgotten Royal Road,” Psychoanalytic Inquiry 36 (3) April 2016: pp 197-8
Karush, Ruth. (2016) “Elucidating the Transference Using the Child’s Dream” Psychoanalytic Inquiry 36 (3) April 2016 pp 214-219
Schmukler, Anita. (2016) “Aspects of Insight in Working with Children Dreams” Psychoanalytic Inquiry 36 (3) April 2016 pp
Miller, Jill. (2016) “Discussion of R Karush’s “Elucidating the Transference Using the Child’s Dream” and A. Schmukler’s “Aspects of Insight in Working with Children’s Dreams”. Psychoanalytic Inquiry Ibid pp 238-240.
IX. Parents
CLASS 9: November 13, 2025
REQUIRED READINGS
Novick, J. and Novick, K.K. (2000). Parent Work in Analysis: Children, Adolescents, and Adults. J. Infant Child Adolesc. Psychother., 1(4):55-77
SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS
Baruch, G. (1997). The Impact of Parental Interventions On The Analysis Of A 5-Year-Old Boy. Int. J. Psycho-Anal., 78:913-926
Furman, E. (1999). ‘The impact of parental interventions’. Int. J. Psycho-Anal., 80(1):172
Lament, C. (2015). A Misuse of Bion’s “Reverie-ing Mother”: Another Weapon in the War against Women as Waged in the Consulting Room. Psychoanal. St. Child, 69:59-82.
X. Divorce
CLASS 10: November 20, 2025
REQUIRED READINGS
Wallerstein, J., Lewis, J. and Rosenthal, S.P. (2013). Mothers and Their Children after Divorce. Psychoanal. Psychol., 30(2):167-184
READINGS FOR SECTION II IN 2026 ARE NOT YET CONFIRMED.
Section II
I. Defense Analysis, I
CLASS 1: January 8, 2026
with Alexander Kalogerakis, MD and Pamela Meersand, PhD
REQUIRED READINGS
Bornstein, B. (1951). On Latency. Psychoanal. St. Child, 6:279-285.
Becker, T.E. (1974). On Latency. Psychoanal. St. Child, 29:3-11.
SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS
Abrams, S. (2014). “Frankie” Revisited: Foundational Concepts in Flux—An Introduction to the Section. Psychoanal. St. Child, 68:91-97.
Hoffman, L. (2014). Berta Bornstein’s “Frankie” The Contemporary Relevance of a Classic to the Treatment of Children with Disruptive Symptoms. Psychoanal. St. Child, 68:152-176.
II. Defense Analysis, II
CLASS 2: January 15, 2026
with Alexander Kalogerakis, MD and Pamela Meersand, PhD
REQUIRED READINGS
Hoffman, L. (2007). Do Children Get Better when we Interpret their Defenses against Painful Feelings?. Psychoanal. St. Child, 62:291-313.
III. Transference
CLASS 3: January 22, 2026
with Alexander Kalogerakis, MD and Pamela Meersand, PhD
REQUIRED READINGS
Fraiberg, S.H. (1951). Clinical Notes on the Nature of Transference in Child Analysis. Psychoanal. St. Child, 6:286-306.
Keable, H. (2002). Child Case Presentation. J. Clin. Psychoanal., 11(4):510-523.
IV. Analytic Frame and Neutrality
CLASS 4: February 5, 2026
with Alexander Kalogerakis, MD and Pamela Meersand, PhD
REQUIRED READINGS
Chused, J.F. (1982). The Role of Analytic Neutrality in the Use of the Child Analyst as a New Object. J. Amer. Psychoanal. Assn., 30:3-28.
Ablon, S.L. (2001). The Work of Transformation: Changes in Technique since Anna Freud’s Normality and Pathology in Childhood. Psychoanal. St. Child, 56: 27-38.
SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS
Barish, K. (2004). The Child Therapist’s Generative Use of Self. Journal of Infant, Child & Adolescent Psychotherapy, 3:270-282.
V. Countertransference
CLASS 5: February 12, 2026
with Alexander Kalogerakis, MD and Pamela Meersand, PhD
REQUIRED READINGS
Mirkin, M. (2019). Judge Not the Play Before the Play Is Done: The Role of Creative Play in the Treatment of a Child with a History of Congenital Impairment. Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 72:143-158.
Yanof, J.A. (2000). Barbie and the Tree of Life: The Multiple Functions of Gender in Development. J. Amer. Psychoanal. Assn., 48(4):1439-1465.
SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS
Chused, J.F. (1988). The Transference Neurosis in Child Analysis. Psychoanal. St. Child, 43:51-81.
VI. Play
CLASS 6: February 19, 2026
with Alexander Kalogerakis, MD and Pamela Meersand, PhD
REQUIRED READINGS
Gilmore, K. (2005). Play in the Psychoanalytic Setting: Ego Capacity, Ego State, and Vehicle for Intersubjective Exchange. Psychoanal. St. Child, 60:213-238.
Birch, M. (1997). In the Land of Counterpane: Travels in the Realm of Play. Psychoanal. St. Child, 52:057-075.
SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS
Joyce, A.F. (2011). Interpretation and Play: Some Aspects of the Process of Child Analysis. Psychoanal. St. Child, 65:152-168.
VII. Dreams
CLASS 7: February 26, 2026
with Alexander Kalogerakis, MD and Pamela Meersand, PhD
REQUIRED READINGS
Karush, R.K. (1998). The Use of Dream Analysis in the Treatment of a Nine-year-old Obsessional Boy. Psychoanal. St. Child, 53:199-211.
Schmukler, A. G. (2016). Aspects of Insight in Working with Children’s Dreams. Psychoanalytic Inquiry, 36:220-227.
VIII. Insight
CLASS 8: March 5, 2026
with Alexander Kalogerakis, MD and Pamela Meersand, PhD
REQUIRED READINGS
Kennedy, H. (1979). The Role Of Insight In Child Analysis: A Developmental Viewpoint. J. Amer. Psychoanal. Assn., 27S(Supplement):9-28.
Sugarman, A. (2003). A New Model for Conceptualizing Insightfulness in the Psychoanalysis of Young Children. Psychoanal. Q., 72:325-355.
IX. Aggression
CLASS 9: March 12, 2026
with Alexander Kalogerakis, MD and Pamela Meersand, PhD
REQUIRED READINGS
Fraiberg, S. (1962) Technical aspects of the analysis of a child with a severe behavior disorder, JAPA, 10, 338-367.
Karush, R.K. (2006). The Vicissitudes of Aggression in a Toddler: A Clinical Contribution. PSC 61: 3-19.
X. Termination
CLASS 10: March 19, 2026
with Alexander Kalogerakis, MD and Pamela Meersand, PhD
REQUIRED READINGS
Fabricius, J., Green, V. (1995). Termination in Child Analysis: A Child-Led Process?. Psychoanal. St. Child, 50:205-225.
Karush, R.K. (2014). Postscripts: Reflections on the Post-Termination Phase. Psychoanal. St. Child, 68:234-247.
SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS
Freud, A. (1970) Problems of Termination in Child Analysis. In “The Writings of Anna Freud” Vol. VII, 3-21. New York, IUP, 1971.
Kantrowitz, J.L. Balsam, R. Greenberg, J. Jacobs, T. Kulish, N. Nunberg, H. Orgel, S. (2017). What It Means to an Analyst When Analyses End. Psychoanal. St. Child, 70:257-272.
READINGS FOR SECTION III ARE CONFIRMED.
Section III
with Adriana Rego, M.D. and TBD
I. Reconsidering Development
CLASS 1: April 9, 2026
REQUIRED READINGS
Knight, R. (2022). Reconsidering Development in Psychoanalysis. Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 75:215-232.
Gilmore, K. (2017). Development in the Digital Age: An Introduction to the Section. Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 70:82-90.
II. Deepening the Transference
CLASS 2: April 16, 2026
REQUIRED READINGS
Fraiberg, S. (1966). Further Considerations of the Role of Transference in Latency. Psychoanal. St. Child, 21:213-236.
Ehrlich, L.T. (2010). The Analyst’s Ambivalence about Continuing and Deepening an Analysis. J. Amer. Psychoanal. Assn., 58(3):515-532.
III. Language
CLASS 3: April 23, 2026
REQUIRED READINGS
Yanof, J.A. (1996). Language, Communication, and Transference in Child Analysis I. Selective Mutism: The Medium Is the Message II. Is Child Analysis Really Analysis?. J. Amer. Psychoanal. Assn., 44:79-99.
Yanof, J.A. (1996). Language, Communication, and Transference in Child Analysis I. Selective Mutism: The Medium Is the Message II. Is Child Analysis Really Analysis?. J. Amer. Psychoanal. Assn., 44:100-116.
IV. Aspects of Play
CLASS 4: April 30, 2026
REQUIRED READINGS
Ablon, S.L. (2014). What Child Analysis Can Teach Us about Psychoanalytic Technique. Psychoanal. St. Child, 68:211-224.
Meersand, P. (2017). Early Latency and the Impact of the Digital World: Exploring the Effect of Technological Games on Evolving Ego Capacities, Superego Development, and Peer Relationships. Psychoanal. St. Child, 70:117-129.
V. Superego Manifestations
CLASS 5: May 7, 2026
REQUIRED READINGS
Sugarman, A. (1999). The Boy in the Iron Mask: Superego Issues in the Analysis of a Two-Year-Old Encopretic. Psychoanal Q., 68(4):497-519.
Shopper, M. (2014). The Role of Sports in the Development of the Superego of the Male Latency Child. Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 68:264-289.
VI. Gender
CLASS 6: May 21, 2026
REQUIRED READINGS
Osserman, J. & Wallerstein, H. (2022). Transgender Children: From Controvery to Dialogue. Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 75:159-172.
Saketopoulou, A. (2020). Thinking psychoanalytically, thinking better: Reflections on transgender. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 101:1019-1030.
SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS
Transgender Children (Special Section, 2022) The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 75:1. (Authors: Gozlan, Silber, Watson, Wiggins)
Transgender Children (Special Section, 2014) The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 68:1. (Authors: Lament, Ehrensaft, Knight, Brinich, Weinstein & Wallerstein)
Saketopoulou, A. (2014). Mourning the Body as Bedrock: Developmental Considerations in Treating Transsexual Patients Analytically. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 62:773-806.
VII. Aggression
CLASS 7: May 28, 2026
REQUIRED READINGS
Olesker, W. (2012). Aggression and Impulse Control in the Analysis of a Young Boy. Psychoanal. St. Child, 66:81-108.
Yanof, J.A. (2012). Treating Children with Affect Dysregulation: Discussion of Dr. Wendy Olesker’s Analysis of Matt. Psychoanal. St. Child, 66:109-121.
VIII. Technique in Latency
CLASS 8: June 4, 2026
REQUIRED READINGS
Hoffman, L. (2014). Berta Bornstein’s “Frankie” The Contemporary Relevance of a Classic to the Treatment of Children with Disruptive Symptoms. Psychoanal. St. Child, 68:152-176
IX. Considerations of Race and Ethnicity in Child Treatment
CLASS 9: June 11, 2026
REQUIRED READINGS
Stoute, B. J. & Slevin, M. (2021). Introduction – African American Children in the World of Structural Racism: Psychoanalytic Perspectives. Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 74:44-46.
Vaughans, K. C. (2021). Black Boys in the Eye of the Storm. Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 74:47-58.
X. Pre-Adolescence
CLASS 10: June 18, 2026
REQUIRED READINGS
Blos, P. (1958). Preadolescent Drive Organization. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 6:47-56.