BY EUNICE PONCE AND ANA ACLE

 A group of mental health experts is advocating a three-month reunification period
 in which Elian Gonzalez's warring relatives would receive counseling in a neutral
 setting as the 6-year-old becomes re-acquainted with his Cuban father and
 stepmom.

 ``Think of the analogy of an egg,'' said Dr. Antonio Gordon, who is on the clinical
 faculty of Nova-Southeastern University and heads the group of experts. ``You
 cannot just leave the egg without some protection. You want to put the egg in
 some place where it is cushioned and protected.''

 Gordon represents the Finlay Institute, a nonprofit medical organization which has
 worked with Cuban-American, Jamaican-American and Haitian-American
 communities in South Florida since 1978. Acting on its own, 10 members of the
 institute formed a panel to study the Elian case. The mental health experts
 decided to come forward because they were concerned that Elian was being
 treated as an ``object'' by doctors who have not even met with the boy.

 Gordon pointed to Dr. Irwin Redlener, who, without having met the child,
 recommended in a letter to the Immigration and Naturalization Service the quick
 removal of Elian from the Little Havana home. Three of the Finlay Institute's
 psychiatrists, psychologists and pediatricians have met with Elian on several
 occasions.

 Gordon said an abrupt removal from a family with which Elian has established
 critical ties would have devastating physical and psychological effects on the boy.

 'IN GREAT DANGER'

 ``He has been in great danger, emotional and physical, and his environment
 should not be changed drastically. The relationship that Elian has established
 with this [Miami] family is not a light relationship because it was forged at a time
 when he lost his mother,'' Gordon said.

 Another Finlay psychologist disputed statements from other professionals who
 have been quoted in media reports, saying four months in Miami cannot outweigh
 Elian's previous five years of life.

 ``Professionals who have said that four or five months cannot compare with the
 five years that Elian lived in Cuba need to remember that during and after a crisis,
 feelings are intensified and very strong emotional bonds can be established in a
 relatively short period of time, particularly with the people perceived as saviors or
 protectors,'' said psychologist Gladys Lorenzo.

 Citing family studies -- such as one published by Ohio State University in 1994,
 Gordon said the 90-day reunification plan has more than a 90 percent chance of
 being successful.

 Attorney General Janet Reno and members of the Miami family have suggested a
 similar reunion, but Elian's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, has so far rejected the
 idea -- unless his son is turned over to him first.

 PRIVACY NEEDED

 Gordon recommends that the re-unification process have limited media coverage.

 ``The media would have to keep an eye on this and have access to information
 and the people, only because the case is such a public event and there are going
 to be people on both sides who are going to claim that something unfair is going
 on,'' he said.

 Gordon did suggest that the presence of demonstrators would be unfavorable.

 ``The family should be prepared to accept whatever comes out of this. It may not
 be a full reintegration, but perhaps they can communicate with each other.''