Abstract

CARDOSO, Marta Rezende. The impossible "loss" of the other in borderline states: exploring the notions of boundary and otherness. Psicol. rev. (Belo Horizonte) [online]. 2007, vol.13, n.2, pp.325-338. ISSN 1677-1168.

This is a study of the psychic functioning in cases of borderline states pathology, in view of the unique role the dimension of otherness plays in such cases. This analytical perspective evokes the idea of a complex relationship between interiority and exteriority, peculiar to those pathologies, marked by an identitynarcissistic problem. These features can be found at the core of those clinical cases, a view that differs from the one using the term ‘borderline’ to define such cases in a perspective of the border between neurosis and psychosis. The issue of otherness can be quite a relevant operator in such investigation, providing useful elements for an analysis not only of the fundamentals of the functioning of boundaries pathology, but of other psychopathological cases too, allowing the establishment of grounds for comparison between them. So, a counterpoint to those cases is established with other clinical frameworks, aiming at a better grasp of their uniqueness.

Keywords : Borderline states; Otherness; Interiority; Exteriority; Loss.

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