ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author introduces a treatment procedure that enables the child's mother to provide him with appropriate support and counselling during a period of particular stress. The mother-child relationship was characterized by age-appropriate closeness and empathic mutual understanding as well as a shared knowledge of the past. Even at the height of distress at the beginning of practitioner's work, the mother functioned well in her parental role, and she was familiar with emotional development and its handling and keen on actively helping her boy. The author portrays three crucial years of Steven's development, from the time of his father's death—just prior to Steven's third birthday—up to the beginnings of latency at age 6. The initial months of work focused on clarifying with Steven the concept of death, the circumstances and cause of the father's death, and on helping him to differentiate himself from the father's fate.
