Ferenczi’s unwelcome child and psychic survival in schools after the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

This study examines how Brazilian schools received students post the Covid-19 pandemic, drawing on Ferenczi’s notion of the unwelcome child and subsequent scholarly developments. It includes an exposition of Ferenczi’s concept and its intersections with other scholars’ work; a contextualization of the pandemic’s impact on Brazilian children; presentation of data illustrating students’ initial enthusiasm, their inclination to share experiences of loss with teachers, and the educational institution’s response to this demand; and an analysis of schools’ potential to serve as healing space that embraces students and support their path to subjectivization.