ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book covers the main theories of the field, however, has as a central reference: the contributions from the Paris Psychosomatic School developed by Pierre Marty and his followers. It focuses on the drive destiny confronted with mourning, between somatization and sublimation, and follows a Freudian line to develop and illustrate the relevant ideas. The book shows the presence of several remarkable Latin American analytic thinkers in the field, as well as own ideas, developed through several previous papers. It also shows how the contributions can be extremely useful in understanding and approaching psychosomatic conditions, by using mainly Kleinian and post-Kleinian concepts, mainly unconscious fantasy. The book addresses one of the most disturbing of the symptoms in the paper on a rash of different colour, and discusses symbolism, symbolization, and trauma.
