Clinical identification of a specific psychic envelope in families with anorexic symptoms.

Our clinical experience in psychoanalytic family therapy with families where one member has anorexic symptoms has shown that the therapy space is often invaded by the deathly dimension, by an absence of family historicity, and by a lack of autonomy. These different elements appear as "voids," missing pieces of a family puzzle, and reflect a psychic container damaged by the weight of inherited intergenerational trauma. Rather than disappear, these elements are passed down from one generation to the next, their effects weakening the current group whose psychic envelope develops "holes" and becomes "elastic." This paper will focus on the changes in this psychic container, which shift according to the rhythm of family functioning, oscillating between activation of the deathly toxic function within the group, on the one hand, and tension between the isomorphic and homomorphic mode, on the other. We will show how this clinical identification around the quality of the psychic envelope and its changes is valuable for family therapy.

Traumatic Birth and Early Bonding, a Case Study / Nascimento Traumático e Impacto Sobre os Primeiros Vínculos, um Estudo de Caso

Abstract Motherhood can be a major developmental crisis. But what about when the birth also includes traumatic elements? Physical, moral and psychic suffering make the mother unavailable and disrupt the first mother-baby bonds, the quality of holding and handling. A state of tension in the mother and the baby can be so intense that it can result in a real state of personal and relational crisis, difficult to control. The presentation of a detailed case study shows the intensity and extent of these movements. Listening and careful observation of the mother and her baby reveal how a particular attention work allowed the mother to name the state of crisis and dissolve it.

Resumo A maternidade pode ser uma grande crise de desenvolvimento. Mas o que acontece quando o nascimento também inclui elementos traumáticos? Sofrimentos físicos, morais e psicológicos tornam a mãe indisponível e perturbam os primeiros vínculos mãe-bebê, a qualidade do holding e do handling. Um estado de tensão na mãe e no bebê pode ser tão intenso e vir a resultar em um verdadeiro estado de crise pessoal e relacional, difícil de conter. A apresentação de um estudo de caso detalhado mostra a intensidade e a amplitude desses movimentos. A escuta e a observação atenta da mãe e do seu bebê revelam como um trabalho de atenção específico permitiu à mãe nomear o estado de crise e dissolvê-lo.