Melancholy and separation in prepuberty: The choice of anorexia nervosa as a subjectivation attempt

Abstract

This article considers the question of the subjective elaboration of a subject's relationship to the family-other within a hospitalization facility. Our starting point is the therapeutic follow-up of Clementine, a melancholic adolescent, thrown into an institutional setting following a severe case of anorexia nervosa. We posit that, in the case of Clementine, the choice of the anorexic symptom may demonstrate both a necessity to detach herself from love objects and a difficulty in doing so, but also provides the start of a subjectifying solution. Case presentation: We propose a qualitative method for the analysis of the individual interviews conducted with this young patient in a patient/psychologist/researcher configuration. A psychoanalytical approach sheds light on several topics: anorexia nervosa, melancholy, twinning, puberty and subjective elaboration. We present the changes in the psychological dynamics and discourse of the young girl during psychological interviews, but also in the wider framework of hospitalization (medical follow-up, family interviews, relationships to the peer group and to the healthcare team, etc.).Conclusion: We think of the anorexic symptom more as a way of setting up the subjectivation process than as a self-destructive behavior, which enables us to address the specific features of a possible therapeutic approach. We open the debate on the question of the benefits of separation from the family and of hospitalization, as well as on the potential impact of the therapeutic framework on the symptom.