ABSTRACT
A child's sense of time is apparent in the first session and changes considerably during the course of therapy. The understanding and repair offered to the child was substantially influenced by Donald Meltzer, whose weekly supervisory reflections on her psychological development are brought alive. Meltzer was particularly interested in the way in which free-flowing creativity occurred in the spontaneous rhythmic lines and musical sequences. This chapter presents the case study of Mia. Aged 6 years, Mia was brought to the clinic by her parents because her teacher was worried that she was "living in a world of her own". The psychologist attempted on two occasions to give Mia intelligence and achievement tests, but found it impossible to get anything but nonsense from her. Mia's parents clearly needed assistance in handling their marital conflicts as well as parenting. Much of the time, her mother was too depressed and lonely to be actively concerned with Mia.
