P-930 - Psychodynamic aspects of self-stigamtization

• Published in: European psychiatry Vol. 27; p. 1
• Main Authors: Neznanov, N.G, Anna, V.V
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier SAS 2012
• Subjects: Internal Medicine; Psychiatry
• ISSN: 0924-9338; 1778-3585
• DOI: 10.1016/S0924-9338(12)75097-6

Psychodynamic approach stresses the importance of studying the peculiarities of the ego development and subjective meaning of the disease for the planning of adequate treatment plan. Under unfavorable conditions some individuals began to live under disguise of imitation of somebody else's life with perfection. The false-identity formation with the excessive success oriented behavior and underling splitting of the emotional life of the individual. In such cases labeling and management instead of authentic human relationships becomes the life strategy, making the individual extremely vulnerable to the status of psychiatric patient or absolutely intolerable to mentally ill in the society. The subjective meaning of the illness can be just a crisis, a transitional state, way of life or an imprescriptible part of identity. Self-stigmatization is generally defined as the patients reaction to illness and the attitude to mentally ill in the society. The patient's personality makes him sensitive to the stigma, by identity deficit as well as his surrounding, bringing about the change in his relationship system, taking into account the conception of his illness. In the treatment process it is very important to consider which life spheres and to what extent are involved. The hole in the identity can be filled with this self-labeling as the representative of the definite illness group, realizing the ambivalent motivational strategies. The interrelationship between level of the real ego functioning, the input of the pretending false-identity and the rigidity of the self-stigmatization should be the cornerstones of the identity psychotherapy.