Clinical Listening to Teenagers Who Cut Themselves: a look at the body and the maternal bond in the psychoanalysis' perspective

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the self-mutilation that occurs in adolescence, seeking to understand the particular meanings of this conduct and to identify related psychological factors. It is a research guided by psychoanalysis that adopted the case study method, based on a clinical experience with two teenagers who cut themselves. The results demonstrated the relevance of the body during adolescence and the cuts were understood as a means of communication and expression of psychological suffering. The search for their own identity and difficulty in separating from the maternal figure were also relevant in understanding the self-mutilation behavior. The clinical investigation supported by the research process offered ways for reflection and propiciated a care for the particularities of each adolescent.