Over decades as a child psychiatrist and family and couples therapist, the author encountered countless instances of psychological suffering in children and adolescents. The symptoms varied widely in severity, but they shared a common underlying condition: omnipotence.
"So, tell me — who runs your house?" This is the question she posed again and again to parents of her young patients. The answer, invariably, was the same: the child presented as the patient was the conductor, the sole king of the household.
Through clinical case studies, the author demonstrates the serious—sometimes grave—consequences of childhood without rules or boundaries. She argues for rules that are shared between parents, precise and stable, adjusted only as the child matures. Such rules create safe borders within which a child knows how to move, and can move securely. They show the growing child that he matters, and above all, that he is loved. Her reflections offer clear guidance for parents and all who work with children and adolescents, laying bare the risks of abandoning rules or failing to enforce them.
The book is written for both general readers and professionals, divided into three parts. The first presents several case studies as they unfold. The second gathers the author's reflections on how to understand these situations and intervene to change them. The third returns to those cases to show how they resolved—often positively, but sometimes not. An appendix offers various news items that, read through the lens of omnipotence, take on meanings quite different from those the media typically assigns them.
- Cristina Tersigni, 1998
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