Françoise Dolto between relational thinking and Freudian Metapsychology
Résumé
The aim of this article is to present the work of the French child psychoanalyst Françoise Dolto (1908-1988) and to demonstrate possible contributions to current debates in relational psychoanalysis. We will present the historical and conceptual relation between relational psychoanalysis and French psychoanalysis. Within this context we will discuss key concepts (e.g., unconscious body image, need and desire, symbolic castrations) of Dolto who, in our understanding, provides an that resembles current relational approaches such as the theory of recognition by Jessica Benjamin. We will discuss Doltos embodied understanding of the unconscious and the role of language and intercorporeal resonance and compare it to the relational approach of Benjamin.