Aggressiveness in the psychoanalytic treatment of children

Abstract

This work aimed to investigate the role of aggressiveness in psychoanalytic treatment with children, fostering reflections on the clinical management of this form of expression to contribute to the study of care and treatment of childhood psychopathologies in psychoanalysis. Thus, the research sought to shed light on the dilemma of aggressiveness as an (im)pass of the young subject in their psychic constitution, shifting aggressiveness from being a signifier linked to the chain of indiscipline and disobedience. Hence, we posed questions: Is it possible to keep aggression in play in treatment so that, from it, the child can establish other ways of addressing the Other? How can clinical conditions and therapeutic functions be created that enable the treatment of the little subject? To achieve this, it was necessary to articulate important concepts in the psychoanalytic field such as demand and transference, guided by studies on undecided clinical matters. Through a literature review and engagement with clinical issues, it was possible to highlight the importance of leveraging playfulness in clinical work with children as a resource for symbolic elaboration, affirming the uniqueness at play and paying attention to the role that aggressive acts play as a child’s defense against the social Other. The relevance of this work lies in tracing the contribution of psychoanalytic listening to the affirmation of mental health work with children, separate from an adjustment-oriented therapy, supporting the effects of psychoanalytic discourse in therapeutic work. It is believed that this direction of study has significant importance and influence for other fields of knowledge beyond the clinic, such as schools, social assistance, and other rights protection institutions, as well as families seeking treatment.