Stages of Treatment in the Case of a Diaper-Wearing Seventeen-Year-Old Male

A case is reported in which the presenting symptoms appeared to be a rather bizarre perversion and severe regression but with no evidence of psychosis. The treatment was interpretive in nature and was aimed at understanding the meaning of the patient's defenses in relation to his fears of growing up. The different maturational stages reached during treatment and the new problems and coping methods of each stage are indicated. In many ways the treatment was similar to that of any adolescent who experiences difficulty in adjusting to physical maturation. In this case the physical maturation was medically accelerated, which stimulated unusually severe defense mechanisms.