ABSTRACT
The current trend of body tattooing and cosmetic surgery shows itself, literally, more and more frequently in patient consulting room. Other individuals may openly discuss their desire for more radical change, such as breast augmentation surgery, "nose jobs," or other body surgeries; in fact, some have decided on such action, or have had such operations, before beginning treatment. This chapter explores how the young woman expressed psychosomatic symptoms, some of which she was able to link to unconscious phantasies, and others which remained just a part of her body "reality," part of the Real. At the core of psychosomatic problems, difficulties in early maternal–infant interactions play a primary role, particularly when the child struggles unsuccessfully to separate from a damaging relationship with its early caregiver. The chapter shows how two different aspects of the early maternal–infant relationship contributed to Gina's choice of cosmetic surgery.
