An Integrated Treatment of Psychosomatic Symptoms and Disorders of the Self: The Role of Alexithymia

Abstract This paper explores the age-old problem of the mind-body relationship by examining the phenomena of psychosomatic symptoms. It traces the development of several clinical concepts that are relevant to our understanding and treatment of patients with psychosomatic symptoms. These concepts include embodiment, alexithymia, affect development and disorders of the self. Brain-based research findings reinforce the contemporary relational turn of psychoanalytic psychology, shifting one’s lens to the intersubjective interaction within the consulting room. A confluence of findings from research and theory thus emerge, suggesting that affect development is an intersubjective experience subject to reconceptualization and change based on one’s relational experiences, including the clinical relationship. A case study illustrates how contemporary psychoanalytic thinking and research findings can be integrated and applied to our clinical practice.