ABSTRACT
From the beginning, interpretation has been central to psychoanalysis. The refinement has led to many different schools of thought as to how interpretation should be used in the therapeutic encounter. As analytic theory and technique developed, some analysts began questioning the importance of interpretation. Recent challenges to the importance of interpretation in child analytic work have arisen from the findings of the related areas of infant observation, infant mental health research, attachment research, neurological studies, and trauma medicine. In child work the emphasis on interpretation, and the relative lack of focus on play as a therapeutic agent, has led to a technique that does not adequately take into account developmental considerations. This has resulted in insufficient exploration of the different ways in which play can be used as a therapeutic technique, rather than just as a means to uncovering the child's inner world.
