ABSTRACT
Now I will turn to some aspects of the process of internalisation and describe the first two years of work with David, a boy who was eighteen years old when he referred himself to the Tavistock. David was severely disabled, having been born without arms from the elbow down; only after two years of treatment was he able to let go of the grip of his eyes on me and begin to use the couch. I think a description of the development of our relationship during those first two years is pertinent to the theme of this chapter: the beginning of the internalisation of ‘an object loves and protects the Self, described by Melanie Klein (1957) as the basic source of inner strength. It is also worth noting that in spite of great privation in his history, David is very different from Martin, whom we met in Chapter 3.
