ABSTRACT
This chapter shows how some limitations of earlier psychosomatic theories have been surmounted by a contemporary theory. It focuses on the adverse impact of traumatic events on the symbolizing function of the mind, a capacity that is essential for the cognitive processing and regulation of emotions and thereby helps protect the integrity of the body. The dissociation or desymbolization within the schemas creates a potential for high arousal of the somatic and motoric components, as these are no longer organized and regulated through links with the symbolic components. To illustrate the process of symbolization in psychoanalytic therapy with somatically ill patients, the chapter describes some aspects of the work with two men (Jorge and Tom) who suffered from cervical dystonia (spasmodic torticollis), which is a form of focal dystonia. From this perspective, cervical dystonia may signify an instinctual bodily response to threat that is now organized by the repetition-compulsion.
