Symbiosis Study of the psychotic part of the personality
Abstract
1. Symbiosis is a narrow interdependence between two or more persons, who complement each other to keep the needs of the most inmature parts of the personality, controlled, motionless and, to a certain extent satisfied.
2. These latter ones make up, in adults, the psychotic part of the personality, in what we have recognized and called as agglutinated nucleus.
3. The psychotic part of the personality is kept strongly segregated from the neurotic part of the personality and its most integrated levels.
4. The psychotic part of the personality is the remainder of a primitive organization, previous to the schidzoparanoid position, that we have called as glischro-caric position.
5. The agglutinated nucleus (the psychotic part of the personality) consists of the most primitive identifications, in which a discrimination between ego and not ego has not been established yet, and makes, on the other hand, the most primitive organization of the oedipus complex which is characterized by a fusion (lack of discrimination) in the parental couple, and between this latter one and the patient’s ego.
6. The agglutinated nucleus can undergo modifications in its size through a regression of the schidzoparanoid position, or a progression towards it.
7. The agglutinated nucleus is not characterized by confusion, but by the fusion of its integrating elements. Confusion appears when the agglutinated nucleus has invaded the more integrated ego.
8. The agglutinated nucleus is ambiguous and polyvalent and being able to undergo extreme polarizations as a consequence of which it may appear functionally as an ego, an object, a superego.
9. The schidzoid division discriminates the components of the agglutinated nucleus and makes the passage from the glischro-caric position to the schidzoparanoid position possible. The schidzoid division turns confusion into contradiction and ambiguity into conflict.
10. The division mind-body corresponds to the division between the neurotic and psychotic parts of the personality, while there exists at the same time, in the psychotic part, a lack of discrimination or a fusion between the body and the outside world.
11. In the neurotic part of the personality repression is predominant, whereas in the psychotic part projection predomimates. In symbiosis a fusion is made between what is projected and the depositary, with a massive projective identification.
12. Schidzoid division is characteristic of the neurotic levels of the personality and it enables the acting of the defense mechanisms: hysterical, phobic, obsessive and paranoid.
13. In the psychotic part of the personality, the fusion or lack of discrimination makes the agglutinated nucleus move massively, originating various defensive phenomena: hypochondria, psychosomatic illnesses, psychopaties. Autism is also a defense: an omnipotent denial of the symbiotic dependency.
14. Envy belongs to the psychotic levels of the personality, whereas jealousy belongs to the neurotic part.
15. Clinic presentation of three types of patients is stated, depending on the degree of control and segregation between the neurotic and psychotic parts of the personality.
16. In patients with clinical symbiosis the autistic latent nucleus should be investigated and analysed, whereas in the clinic autism the symbiotic latent nucleus should be investigated and analysed.
17. Entry into and exit from sessions, as well as any other change, mobilize the psychotic part of the personality.
18. In the psychotic part of the personality, when it is predominant, there is a great facility or permeability to introjection and indiscriminate identification which explains dynamically some phenomena, such as echolary, echopraxy
and mimetism.
19. A narrow and blurred conscience is characteristic of the presence and activity of the psychotic part of the personality.
20. Elaboration of symbiosis requires sometimes from the patient training in action, because of a deficit in symbolization (psychopathic passage).
21. The transference of the psychotic part of the personality is a psychotic transference, characterized by being massive, invasive, sudden, tenacious and labile, fully equivalent to the transferential symbiosis.
22. The basis for psychotic transference (symbiotic) is massive projective identification, that blends the depositary with the projected object, ah of which accounts its lack of sense of reality.
23. Massive projective identification is a consequence of the nature of what is projected (agglutinated nucleus, that mobilizes itself globally and massively).
24. The countertransferential reaction at the acting of the psychotic level is, generally, that of feeling opressed and experiencing overall overwhelming sensations, that will give rise to more discriminated impressions and reactions,
as the passage of the psychotic part to the neurotic levels of the personality is accomplished.
25. Guilt in countertransference is a very frequent phenomenon, by which the patient tends to obtain —-through guilt— to be given without having to ask, and therefore, without having to mobilize the psychotic parts of the personality.
26. Countertransferentially, the feeling that we are forcing the patient’s timing and overloading and opressing him with the mobilization of his psychotic part is very frecuent.
27. Technically, it is necessary to proceed to the discovery of the psychotic part of the personality in every neurosis.
28. Technically, one should try to see that the more integrated ego proceeds to a discrirnination in the agglutinated nucleus, i. e. to establishing the schidzoid division in the psychotic part of the personality.
29. In this way the psychotic part is turned into a neurotic one of the personality.
30. Two types of interpretations are recognized: splitted and not splitted that allow the handling of the timing and the mobilization of the psychotic part of the personality.
31. The handling of the timing is fundamental in order to be able to analyse previously, to a certain extent, the neurotic levels which enable a greater integration of the ego, so it can face the discriminating job of the agglutinated nucleus, without yielding to its massive invasion.
32. Mobilization of the agglutinated nucleus is an indispensable step in its elaboration (discrimination).
33. Repeated introjection-projections, reintrojections and reprojections, bring about a certain fragmentation of the agglutinated nucleus, as a necessary passage for discrimination.
34. The appearance of confusion in any of its manifestations (dizziness, obnubilation, suspense, perplexity) represents an index of introjection”. It is equivalent, at psychotic levels, to the alarm signal in neurotic levels.
35. The analyst must permanently split for himself his role from the one the patient projects onto him, thus keeping permanently a discrimination of his identity.
36. Interpretation at neurotic levels tends to integrate the dissociations and achieve the passage to the depressive position; at psychotic interpretation levels, it tends to discriminate and achieve the schidzoparanoid position.
37. Interpretation at psychotic levels falls on the division line with the neurotic part of the personality.
38. Interpretation of psychotic levels for a long time are apparently inoperative, but afterwards an explosive or cyclic insight may occur.
39. Technical effort must not be centered in trying to penetrate the patient’s autism but in emerging from the symbiosis. In proceeding thus, we mobilize all the narcissistic organization of the patient (including autism).
40. The analyst must act discriminatingly, as a supplementary ego of the patient, activity through which the patient himself learns to discriminate.
41. In the psychotic part of the personality, interpretation should not be made in terms that imply accepting the existence of feelings or thoughts, because affects and the symbolic activity arise from discrimination. Affects bodily expressed should be pointed out first as bodily events.
42. When analysis has advanced, it is necessary not to confuse the schizoid division of neurotic levels with division between the neurotic and psychotic parts of the personality, as well as re-agglutination should not be confused with the integration of the depressive position.
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