ABSTRACT
The first issue I wish to address in this chapter is whether major differences that parallel those between child and adolescent analysis (as well as adult analysis) exist between the approaches of the various theoretical models to psychoanalysis (of children, adolescents or adults). One way of investigating the differences between the various models is in terms of the different roles assigned to the ‘characters’ that appear in a psychoanalytic session. These extend over a continuum ranging from characters seen as possessing ‘real external’ – i.e. historical – status (father, mother, siblings, friends, sexuality, etc.), via ones deemed to be expressions of the ‘internal objects and the associated fantasies’, to others regarded as ‘expressive modalities of the current functioning’ of the analytic couple at work.
