Waiting to be Found

Summary — English:
Alvarez explores the experience of severely deprived and developmentally disturbed children who may appear emotionally withdrawn, unreachable, or difficult to engage.
The idea of “waiting to be found” describes a state in which the child may not actively seek contact but nevertheless needs the therapist to recognize and reach the hidden emotional self.
She emphasizes that some children require more than interpretation; they may first need the therapist to actively notice, respond to, and give meaning to primitive or unformed emotional states.
The therapist’s attention and emotional availability can therefore become an important developmental experience, particularly when earlier caregivers failed to recognize the child’s psychological existence.
The concept highlights the therapeutic importance of finding the child psychologically before expecting the child to communicate, relate, or symbolize independently.