Year: 2025
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: This study investigates contemporary developments in sexuality through a theoretical lens grounded in both the Oedipus Complex and the Castration Complex.We analyze data from the Ambulatory for Transgender Care at a public university hospital and conduct clinical observations with five adolescents.While the Oedipus Complex often no longer manifests as it did in Freud's time, associating it with the theory of castration offers a robust framework for understanding unconscious determinations and their role in adolescent experiences today.Three axes structure our research: The first axis is based on a literature review.We refer to psychoanalytic theory on adolescence, positioning it as a critical phase for structuring sexual differentiation and negotiating subjective identity within the division of the sexes, questioning binary identifications.We engage in an in-depth analysis of fundamental concepts by Freud and Lacan to examine the relationship between the Oedipus Complex and the theory of castration.Our hypothesis is that associating these two fundamental concepts provides a better understanding of today's clinical findings.The second axis is clinical.We present five carefully selected clinical vignettes and focus on the narratives of adolescents attending the Ambulatory.Our guiding question is: how does adolescent sexuality, with its contemporary issues of identity and self-construction, contribute new perspectives to psychoanalytic theories of sexuality?We also examine how these cases provide insights into the continued applicability of psychoanalytic concepts to contemporary clinical realities.At the same time, we critically analyze the clinical findings, integrating them with the theoretical framework established in the first axis.The third axis underscores the relevance of classical psychoanalytic theories for understanding the complexities of adolescence in today's context.By linking the Oedipus Complex to the theory of castration, this study addresses cases that raise issues Freud could not have anticipated, given their relative invisibility a century ago.This approach counters criticisms of psychoanalysis as an outdated or obsolete discipline, demonstrating its capacity to engage with and illuminate contemporary clinical challenges.
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4410355203