ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author focuses on the common clinical observation that could be made in child psychiatry practice whereby a child in the clinic seems to be rather especially alive, delightful, nicely dressed, keen to display skill and what seemed to be creative ability. It took the author some years to realise that these children were entertaining me as they felt they must also entertain their mothers, to deal with the mother's depressed mood. Always it seems that success, instead of bringing the patient to a new position, simply brings him or her to the starting point, and there is no question of further progress because the patient is exhausted by the effort of getting to the place from which a start might be made. The analyst finds that genuinely wanting the patient to get well only acts as reassurance over a limited time or over a limited area.
