Psychopathology: Theory and Practice

14 May 2020 – Raffaella Hilty

In this seminar Raffaella will deliver on the topic of enactment in borderline and narcissistic disorders, meaning any mutual acting out that arises in the therapeutic relationship in the context of the challenges faced in counter-transference work.

In order to address this topic, a clinical case will be presented where meaningful aspects of the difficulties faced in receiving and making sense of the patient’s use of primitive defences, to communicate preverbal and un-symbolised experiences of early physical and emotional neglect, will be described, especially highlighting their expression through a very uncomfortable symptom: the client’s bodily odour.

The link between disorganised-attachment, characterised by a mix of avoidant and ambivalent states of mind, and the development of adult psychopathology, characterised by a fragmentation of the self, will be explored in the context of contemporary research evidence, whilst specific elements of therapeutic technique, providing containment and facilitating understanding, will also be highlighted for the discussion.