ABSTRACT
At the deepest level, psychosexual development is linked to the experience of separation from the womb in the first three months of life – and in turn, to giving up a fantasized omnipotence and control of the love object. In writing this chapter, the authors found it very difficult to describe a simple idea: that during puberty, every phase of development becomes newly agitated, and that each phase proves to be either stable or in need of modification or collapse. They describe two therapies with adolescents where it was possible to work through Elfi's early denial of sexuality and James' violent fantasies, opening psychic space for the development of their sexual wishes. Using two case studies, the authors show how the various levels of the inner world can be rendered transparent and can be worked through.
