The treatment of a transvestite

SUMMARY

This account of a three-year analytical therapy of a transvestite patient falls naturally for descriptive purposes into three sections. An attempt has been made to demonstrate the development of a capacity for depression, increased object-relatedness and disidentification from a symbiotically-related female introject. Special attention is directed in this account to the use of dream interpretation, the occurrence of acting-out during the treatment, and particular aspects of the transference. The phallocentric quality of transvestism is emphasised. The main therapeutic aim and gain was the attainment of a more independent male self who could also be a father. Theoretical considerations of the treatment are embodied in the ongoing text.