ABSTRACT
At this point, it is timely to take stock of where we are conceptually. The focus in this work has been on the patients’ experiences of having neuropsychological defi cits that are innate in their origins. In considering these patients’ self-experience, I called attention to the affect states that were instrumental in the formation of those experiences: specifi cally, the feelings of shame associated with their awareness that something about themselves is amiss, often not knowing the specifi c source or cause of the discomfort and the reasons for the subsequent disruptions in their capacity to accommodate successfully to their context.
