Child Psychoanalysis and Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms: The Treatment of a Ten-Year-Old Boy

Obsessive-compulsive symptoms have long held interest for psychoanalysts. Currently, pharmacological and behavioral treatments are commonly viewed as the standard of care, and psychoanalytic clinicians are often uncertain of how best to approach these patients. The successful two-year psychoanalytic treatment of a ten-year-old boy with obsessivecompulsive disorder, who remained symptom-free eight years after termination, is reported. While this is but a single case, its outcome implies that for some patients psychoanalysis may be the treatment of choice.