Hodgkin's disease in adolescence: A psychoanalytical approach |
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Authors: | Paola Carbone |
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Institution: | University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’, Dipartimento di Psicologia dei Processi di Sviluppo e Socializzazione Via dei Marsi , 78 00185, Roma, Italy |
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Abstract: | As a general rule, adolescents suffering from severe organic diseases experience more difficulty than adults and children in recognizing the illness and undergoing treatment, because there is a conflict between accepting the sick body and the sexual body. Dependence on medical treatment, moreover, clashes with the normal drive to autonomy. Long experience as a consultant psychiatrist in the haematology department of a hospital enables the author to propose a hypothesis as to the emotional significance of Hodgkin's disease and chemotherapy, concentrating particular attention on the refusal reaction to the chemotherapy itself. The psychoanalytical psychotherapy of a female adolescent suffering from Hodgkin's disease is presented and discussed to illustrate the theoretical and technical implications. |
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Keywords: | Hodgkin's disease adolescence psychotherapy chemotherapy refusal separation individuation |
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