ABSTRACT
The parents of the six-year-old girl Wendy came to consult the author because she had been stealing things and masturbating compulsively “since the birth of her seven-month-old brother”. Mrs W had suffered a miscarriage a couple of years after Wendy’s birth and she found this very traumatic, but Wendy had shown no signs of being affected by her mother’s distress or the atmosphere in the family home. The author suggests that they might explore Wendy’s response to his translation of their account and, if this did not work, then to contact him again. Though surprised and amused by the author's interpretation of Wendy’s behaviour, Mrs W was obviously prepared to put it to the test—and it seems that this was a correct reading of the girl’s “masturbation”, since her mother’s words brought insight to Wendy and she was able to deal with her feelings in a different manner.
