The Child's Cognitive Struggle to Understand “Damage” to an Important Object: A Six-Year-Old's Attempt to Deal with the Trauma of His Father's Epilepsy

Abstract

The traumatic effect on a developing child of sudden damage to a loved object, particularly a parent, is considered here with emphasis on the emotional aspects of such loss, as well as the cognitive task that the child must undertake in alleviating the trauma. An example of the importance of this cognitive struggle is presented in the early sessions of psychotherapy of a six-year-old boy whose father experienced epilepsy.