The development of the senses, the continually differentiating thought and comportment structures, and the experience of space and time are, for Piaget, the prerequisites for developing the ability to symbolize. Compatible with this are the theories of development in depth psychology, where the main emphasis is on early childhood experience with the people with whom one has relationships and where the condition for a healthy development is a happy relationship with the person to whom one relates most closely (Balint, Mahler, Ericson, Winnicott, Kohut and Kernberg).
For Piaget, the growth of senses, evolving thought structures, and experiences in space and time are prerequisites for developing symbolic abilities. These developmental theories resonate with depth psychology, which centers on early childhood relationships and a healthy development requires a positive relationship with one's closest person (Balint, Mahler, Ericson, Winnicott, Kohut, and Kernberg).