Therapy with Infants

When a child without a fully developed language experiences physical and psychological stress that exceeds the child's capacity to cope, the experience can leave lasting marks, unless the child receives treatment. Infant therapy is a method inspired by the work of the French pediatrician and psychoanalyst Francoise Dolto and her student Caroline Eliacheff. The method can be applied both with infants and with older children. The most important messages are, "Never allow the child's pain to be forgotten," and "Everything that is left unsaid ties up energy." In therapy, the therapist puts the child's stressful experiences into words. The infant's story is told, the words bring order to the child's chaos, and the trauma becomes an identified part of his or her life. Infant therapy is primarily a therapeutic intervention aimed at traumatised infants, but the method can also be applied in daily educational practices by preschool teachers, nurses, teachers, day care providers and parents.