ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author describes aspects of his work with a patient that may help to illustrate more clearly what he refer to when talking about the inner world. He deliberately chosen a case whose external circumstances were not particularly traumatic, as this might help one to focus on the subjective component of the inner world, rather than look for external causes. In the case of his patient, a girl chronologically in her teens but emotionally in her early childhood, the reason for disturbance could not be very clearly pinpointed in terms of her history. An important part of his work with Louise consisted in providing her with an experience of attention and consistency, which gradually began to counterbalance the elusive quality of the Cheshire Cat, there one minute and gone the next. Louise needed to feel sufficiently contained to be able to relinquish the protection of harmful defences and face the psychic pain that had previously been intolerable.
