[The schizophrenic patient and his body: remarks on the psychosomatic economy of dissociative psychoses].

Abstract

For schizophrenic patients, memory and desire are not bodily experiences. Mnemonic traces can be mobilized only at the cost of acute psychotic disintegration of the Self. This paper emphasizes the importance of understanding the Ego structure, the narcissistic economy and psychotic defenses (denial, splitting) as a psychosomatic the organization. Indeed, during somatic illness we observe a reintegration of the body as the hinge between emotional and symbolic aspects of subjective experience. The author suggests that the psychosomatic viewpoint is particularly useful in understanding the clinical evolution of schizophrenia, in psychotherapeutic management of transference and in the elaboration of psychiatric care policies for such patients.