The boy in the iron mask: superego issues in the analysis of a two-year-old encopretic.
The paucity of psychoanalytic literature on encopresis is surprising given its frequency as a presenting symptom. Vignettes from the analysis of a two-year-old encopretic boy are presented to demonstrate the prominence of superego determinants, even in a child so young. The implications of this finding for understanding encopresis are subsequently discussed, including the common feature of depression. Technical issues arising from a sensitivity to these superego contributors are demonstrated, and the importance of addressing a child's sadistic superego directly in order to facilitate insight is emphasized.
Sugarman
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D002675:Child, Preschool; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology; D004688:Encopresis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000523:psychology; D011572:Psychoanalysis; D011574:Psychoanalytic Theory; D012043:Regression, Psychology; D013475:Superego