In working with families with symptomatic children, family therapists may be so focused on the systematic aspects of the problem that they inadvertently neglect the child's individual issues. Through the use of a case example, this paper presents a variety of ways in which one can make use of a psychodynamic understanding of the child's issues while continuing to employ brief, action‐oriented intervention strategies. A crucial aspect of the approach described is the devising of tasks which address the child's intrapsychic conflict