ABSTRACT
The patient Babette is a European woman of Jewish Moroccan ancestry. She had lived in several countries because of her father's business and thus spoke, fluently, many languages. The main problem with her is stammering, a symptom present since early childhood. She regarded this concern of her parents with a mixture of resentment and humor, pointing out that since this was a "visible" symptom, they had agreed to therapy, while ignoring all she knew was emotionally wrong with her. She believed her main problem was to find a man whom she would like enough to defy the parents' requirement that she should only date – and of course marry – a Jewish man. She had married a Jewish man, an accomplished artist, and had two children. In Babette's history, there are two highly traumatic events, both related to medical conditions.
