The general practitioner, secretary of the alienated subject?
This paper asks what Lacanian psychoanalytic theory might offer a general practitioner working over many years with highly complex patients. I reflect on 25 years of practice with patients who attend frequently, suffer significantly and are difficult to help by conventional medical means. Many of th...
| Publicado en: | Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Vol. 40; no. 2; pp. 142 - 146 |
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| Formato: | Artículo |
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Taylor & Francis Ltd
Jun2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=193835381&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 193835381 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 02668734 GX8 jtl: Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy issn: 02668734 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Jun2026 vid: 40 iid: 2 pid: 377 pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd artinfo: ui: 193835381 10.1080/02668734.2026.2651136 ppf: 142 ppct: 4 formats: tig: atl: The general practitioner, secretary of the alienated subject? aug: au: Beug, Anna affil: Public Health and Primary Care, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland su: Treatment of borderline personality disorder Work Occupational roles Defense mechanisms (Psychology) Social alienation Psychoanalysis Physician-patient relations Physicians Psychoses Psychosocial factors Experiential learning General practitioners Psychoanalytic theory sug: subj: Treatment of borderline personality disorder Work Occupational roles Defense mechanisms (Psychology) Social alienation Psychoanalysis Physician-patient relations Physicians Psychoses Psychosocial factors Experiential learning Offices of physicians Offices of Physicians (except Mental Health Specialists) General practitioners Psychoanalytic theory keyword: borderline personality disorder lacan ordinary psychosis primary care psychoanalysis borderline personality disorder lacan ordinary psychosis primary care psychoanalysis ab: This paper asks what Lacanian psychoanalytic theory might offer a general practitioner working over many years with highly complex patients. I reflect on 25 years of practice with patients who attend frequently, suffer significantly and are difficult to help by conventional medical means. Many of these patients are diagnosed with borderline or emotionally unstable personality disorder and treated with antipsychotic medications. Drawing on Darian Leaders discussion of Lacan's Concept of the analyst as 'secretary of the alienated subject' and related writings on 'ordinary psychosis', I explore how psychoanalytic ideas may illuminate aspects of clinical work in primary care that might otherwise seem futile or menial. The idea of 'secretarial duties', such as writing letters, documenting details and providing punctuation through regular short appointments are elaborated with clinical examples. This reflective paper suggests that Lacanian theory may offer a way to conceptualize and articulate the delicate nature of this work so often undertaken in primary care with patients the system has largely abandoned. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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