Exploring the mother tongue: insights into psychoanalytic practice

ABSTRACT

This paper delves into the potential within psychoanalytic psychology to forge a new language between patient and analyst, facilitating a reconnection with parts of the psyche immobilized and numbed by overwhelming experiences. Through various clinical illustrations, the discussion centers on the concept of the mother tongue as a psycho-sensory experience capable of crafting a psychological space for storing and processing experiences. Rooted in psychoanalytic theory, these reflections are significantly supported by scientific findings from Infant Research, which, via empirical studies, underscores the vital role of the vocal interplay between mother and infant in developing a mental framework that can endure and conceptualize emotions.

KEYWORDS:

• Preverbal language
• intersubjectivity
• mother toungue
• trauma
• psychoanalysis

Note

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Notes on contributors

Silvia Cimino

Silvia Cimino is an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology, Department of Dynamic, Clinical, and Health Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza, University of Rome; holder of a National Scientific Qualification for Full Professorship (disciplinary sector 11/E4, Clinical and Dynamic Psychology), Child, Adolescent, and Family Psychotherapist (AIPPI); Ordinary Member of the Italian Association of Psychoanalysis (AIPsi-IPA, International Psychoanalytic Association); member of the Royal Society of Medicine; Principal Investigator of numerous peer-reviewed research projects; and editor and reviewer for several international scientific journals. Cimino is the author of over 150 national and international publications (including articles, books, book chapters) primarily focused on child and adolescent psychopathology (with a particular emphasis on eating disorders, depression, and the impact of traumatic experiences).