Main description:

Psychosomatics have classically been of peripheral importance within our wellknown theoretical models, despite the fact that they do have a history in the field of psychoanalysis. This might be owing to the fact that Freud did not explicitly approach psychosomatics and, in consequence, did not put forward any hypotheses within his theoretical body. However, the Freudian concepts of actual neuroses and mixed neuroses are a basis in order to understand psychosomatic phenomena. The same could be said about the connections established with subsequent Freudian theoretical models, such as: the introduction of narcissism, unresolved mourning processes, early trauma and the action of Thanatos.

Contents:

Psychoanalytic Ideas and Applications Series , Preface , Introduction , Thoughts on the Paris School of Psychosomatics , The mysterious leap of the somatic into the psyche , Psychosomatics: the role of unconscious phantasy , A rash of a different colour: somatopsychic eruptions from the other side , Adolescence: the body as a scenario for non-symbolized dramas , Psychosomatic conditions in contemporary psychoanalysis , Particular vicissitudes of the drive confronted with mourning: sublimation and somatization , The place of affect in the psychosomatic economy , The capacity to say no and psychosomatic disorders in childhood , Symbolism, symbolization, and trauma in psychosomatic theory , Afterword