ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors present an overview of sources, starting from the relational seeds to be found in clinical studies in neuropsychoanalysis itself. They then take the main developments over the last century from the progressively relational turn in psychoanalysis and intersect these with the social neuroscience knowledge base, to arrive at a proposal for a contemporary relational neuropsychoanalysis. The authors then road-test it with reference to the core interpersonal challenges confronting those with neurological conditions, their loved ones and the clinicians supporting them. The mapping of the impact of different neurological conditions has progressively broadened in scope over the past three decades. Patients’ performance on standardised medical and neuropsychological tests has been complemented by a strong consideration of ecologically valid real-world functional outcomes at the individual level. The neuropsychological assessment highlighted a piecemeal perceptual processing style consistent with an autistic spectrum neuropsychological profile.
