When the Body Does the Talking

Understanding and Working with Somatic Symptoms in Psychoanalytic Treatment

Dr Rory Rothman’s presentation centers on her interest in uncovering the common framework of primitive, long-term challenging cases. These patients employ a wide range of psychic defense mechanisms to maintain a safe and tolerable level of stimulation. But it was the pervasive somatic symptoms central to three such cases that emerged as the prism through which Dr Rothman began to understand their psychic organization.

In examining the varieties of somatization and their function in psychic organization, Dr Rothman attempts to shed light on the patient’s specific methods in managing tension and maintaining psychic equilibrium. Patients appear to use the body as protection against threats coming from both internal and external sources.

Dr Rothman presents her unique insights into the underlying early conflicts embodied by these physical symptoms and also addresses the potential dangers in working with such cases and the special demands they place on the analyst, requiring extensive use of induced countertransference feelings — a cornerstone of modern psychoanalytic practice.

Here are the links to the video of her presentation: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5