The concept of "psychic reality"

Abstract

The questions are examined, to what extent our contemporary understanding of "psychic reality" and Freuds concept are still identical and whether this concept is used always in the same sense. It can be shown, that in the present literature this concept relates to very different contents as for example substitutive formations, subjective experiences being influenced by unconscious processes, the first mental organization of the subject or, simply, manifestations of phantasies. In Freud's view, however, this concept refers twofold to unconscious contents: on the one hand to their real existence, on the other hand to the quality of unconscious concepts, to refer even then to real events in the external world, if, originally, they were only phantasies. It is argued not to blur the original concept and to retain the definition of Freud. © 2006 Springer Medizin Verlag.