ABSTRACT
The Ego-Self/Non-Self relationship is a main area when dealing with the psychoanalytic treatment of psychosis: a condensed intrapsychic functional equivalent of the primary mother-child relationship, where the Self is an object for the Ego. The way in which the patient treats himself, a reflection of the ways in which he has been treated, is recorded and etched in the intrapsychic and played out in interpersonal exchanges. For some ultimately serious patients, the object becomes an enemy: thus, before reactivating nutrient exchanges – and this is often possible only at the level of “Placental Nutrition” – one needs to be willing to cross deserts, arid, and lifeless territories together with these patients. The economic aspects of the Ego-Self relationship and energy expenditure are explored: with severe patients and in post-traumatic situations, working also at the Ego level – like looking at a topographic map together – to figure out where you are. The concept of “Regressive Hole” allows us to understand the special subjective condition of some patients, who firstly need hope and confirmation that their state has been detected and fully recognized.
