In the Film, Child of rage, directed by Larry Peerce, there was a child named Catherine that would have huge outbursts of violent rage. Her actions could be analyzed through the Freudian Model.
As her parents were highly concerned because she appeared like a normal young child, as well as her blood related younger brother Eric. As a couple adopted both Catherine and Eric they both came off as sweet and timid, however Catherine started displaying violent acts such as baby birds and attacking Eric while he was sleeping.As those incidents occurred they went unnoticed by the couple buy as soon as she started ripping her room apart and stabbing the family dog with a needle, then the adoptive parents were concerned. As they asked the caseworker that give them the children, she couldn’t say anything but expected the couple to bring back the kids because they could not be handled.
As the couple kept looking for answers another incident with Catherine happened. Catherine fondles with her grandfather, so both Rob and Jill, her adoptive parents, brought her to a psychologist.As Catherine put on a good show for the psychologist, he did not believe anything was wrong with her. As most of her episodes progressed Jill noticed fresh bruises on Eric’s stomach, too scared to admit that it was Catherine who caused it. But her next episode was extreme Catherine smashed Eric’s head onto a concrete floor landing him into the hospital from there Eric no longer lived with Catherine, Jill and Rob, but with his grandparents; until they resolved Catherine’s behavior.
At this time, the caseworker finally told them the horrible story of how they found Catherine and Eric.When they found them, both Catherine and Eric were in neglectful home with no sign of the mother nor father; their biological mother was hospitalized with pneumonia while their biological father was drunk who knows where. After finally knowing what happened to Catherine and Eric they got in contact with an older sister that they had. At a Topless bar, she complained to them as when she was younger her father sexually abused her and when she started fighting back the father went to Catherine, Catherine was only a baby at the time.After yet another incident, Catherine cut a classmate with a glass, her adoptive parents went back to the caseworker and she gave them a book called Kids Who Kill, she realized that Catherine had the same behaviors and in the book. The Caseworker advises Jill to do a treatment method called holding therapy; which was normally done to children that aren’t attached to their parents more like a rebirth.
She suggested going to the author of the book her name was Dr. Myers because she practiced holding therapy. Jill and Rob wanted to do everything possible to keep Catherine so they took her to see Dr. Myers.
Catherine tried to do the same thing as she did to the other psychologist but Dr. Myers used reverse psychology to get Catherine to admit all her harmful acts of violence with everyone around her. As they do the holding therapy, Dr. Myers deliberately provokes her rage and it started it out well. But after they went home they decided to separate so Catherine would have time with each parent and heal. As they were doing another holding therapy, Catherine has a breakthrough Jill and Catherine both cry and Catherine attempts to comfort her and at the end Catherine tells both her parents that she loves them and it ends with a tearfully embrace.
As though it took a long time to heal Catherine they never gave up on her, because if Jill and Rob would’ve given her back she would have kept growing with that rage and anger toward everyone and as she grows older it would be even harder to heal her. Catherine’s behavior can be analyzed through Freudian Model, believed as Attachment disorder. Reactive Attachment disorder is a rare psychological disorder in which as a newborn doesn’t form healthy bonds with neither their mother nor father. Children that suffer from this disorder usually experience some sort of abuse or trauma in their childhood.In that case on the Freudian Model on the psychosexual stages, Catherine lacked the oral stage, which takes place from birth to eighteen months. This stage is Basic trust vs.
Distant, which basically means either the baby is really close any trust the mother or the father or does not have any attachment to the mother, no caregiver present. In this stage the mouth is fully focused on because it involves sucking, biting and breast-feeding. In the oral stage its mostly from the unconscious mind; which usually contains biological instincts.As for Catherine, she was distant from her biological mother and sexually abused by her father, which cause her to have all that anger inside of her and never experiencing anger or trust with anyone.
Also it could be analyzed by Psychoanalysis which was founded by Sigmund Freud, he believed that people could be cured by making their unconscious thoughts conscious, the goal for psychoanalysis therapy is to release repressed; to take out painful or disturbing memories from the conscious mind for example like, emotions and experiences.In order for Catherine to be diagnosed with Attachment Disorder she would have to meet the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (DSM). Catherine was younger than five and showed disturbed and developmentally inappropriate social relationship, and as well was not being friendly or familiar with strangers or her brother and also her biological parents failed to meet Catherine’s emotional needs and comfort and affection.As Dr. Myers as well as Jill and Rob evaluated Catherine’s interaction with her caregivers, her behavior throughout time, and also their questions about their early childhood, which caused most of the damage to Catherine because she was abused. Attachment Disorder kids have learned that the world is a very scary place, knowing from birth or a little older that adults around them cant be trusted.
They have developed a protective shell around their emotions, separating themselves from any care that is given to them. Unlike normal kids that depend on their parents to protect them, their protective shell becomes the child’s only means of coping.As they see everyone as a threat to their lives, they highly dislike the people that seek the most to help them out. They are not able to bond or trust, they learned that adults in their lives are not trustworthy. Without trust there cannot be love.
And without love they are emotionally under developed, instead of love rage has taken over them. (Levy and Orlans) As how Dr. Myers practiced with Catherine holding therapy at that young age most likely it will be cured, it was rough as it took a while to for Catherine to finally feel at comfort with both Jill and Rob.While most of children that have this disorder are healed, they have to want it because the prognosis is not good. Without healing, these kids grow up unable to form healthy relationship with other human beings. Often times, kids develop into sociopaths devoid of conscience or concern for anyone other than themselves, or even other disorders.
So it is best that if and when a child shows the symptoms of an attachment Disorder, that they should see a psychologist and practice holding therapy. As they will be cured and not go into worse episodes or let it lead into other types of disorders.
