SIPRe in the international context: contributions at the International Federation of Psychoanalytic Societies (IFPS) Forum
17 July 2025
Vol. 36 No. s1 (2025)
https://doi.org/10.4081/rp.2025.1042

Feeling existent and being in the world under certain conditions. The diagnosis revisited from a relational psychoanalytic perspective

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Diagnosis, psychoanalytic clinic, psychoanalysis
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Authors

Laura Corbelli
laurac@omniway.sm
Psychologist and Psychotherapist, SIPRe; Lecturer in Psychopathology at SIPRe, Parma, Italy; Editor-in-Chief of Ricerca Psicoanalitica; Contact Person for the ‘Responsible Gaming’ desk of the State Games Authority of the Republic of San Marino; Past President, Order of Psychologists of the Republic of San Marino, San Marino.
Francesca Piazzalunga
Psychotherapist and Supervisor, SIPRe; Psycho-oncologist at the Division of Medical Oncology, Fatebenefratelli and Ophthalmic Hospital, Milan; Lecturer in Psychopathology at the School of Specialization in Psychoanalysis of Relationships (SIPRe), Milan, Italy.

This article revisits the concept of diagnosis within psychoanalysis from a relational perspective, challenging its traditional reductionist and medicalized interpretations. Diagnosis is redefined not as a static categorization but as a dynamic and co-constructed process that unfolds within the therapeutic relationship. It emphasizes the diagnostic process as a heuristic and narrative tool, rather than a fixed label, acknowledging that symptoms are expressions of a person’s unique efforts to exist and make meaning in the world. A clinical vignette illustrates how the therapist’s awareness of their own subjectivity and involvement is essential in shaping the therapeutic space. The case of Marina, a woman confronting anxiety, obsessive thoughts, and relational trauma, reveals how diagnostic insight evolves through shared meaning-making rather than predefined categories. Her journey, supported by both psychotherapy and pharmacological intervention, illustrates diagnosis as an ongoing interpretative act, embedded in the relational field, sensitive to context, and rooted in transformation.

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Feeling existent and being in the world under certain conditions. The diagnosis revisited from a relational psychoanalytic perspective. (2025). Ricerca Psicoanalitica, 36(s1). https://doi.org/10.4081/rp.2025.1042
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