From the Enigma of Identity to "Becoming a Subject": The Transitional Double.

In the field of psychopathology, "narcissistic and identity-related suffering" refers to a type of suffering characterized by a lack of being that centrally affects narcissism and identity continuity/discontinuity. Present in many clinical and psychopathological pictures, these problems in turn invite us to undertake a rereading of the modalities of structuration of subjectivity in the course of development. Elements for a model of identity construction are proposed based on the paradigm of the double. Approached from the angle of paradox, identity is thought of as a process in the service of "becoming a subject" based, essentially, on the role of the object and its reflexive function. Drawing on the concept of "transitional double," this perspective allows the foundations of subjective identity and their stages of construction to be described; these foundations underlie the creation of an internal psychic mirror, the locus of one's relationship to self. These considerations give us a better understanding of the logics of narcissistic and identity-related pathologies, which are characterized in particular by a failure of reflexive capacities, revealing the uncertainties of the dual relational dynamic in the course of early development.

Psychotherapy mediated by videogames.

Our purpose in this article is to propose an overview of the specificities of therapeutic mediation through video games. We analyse the clinical implications of using a video game interface and its different functionalities. The use of the video game set-up involves requirements, like adjustment between the subject, the machine and the virtual environment. With the computer game interface, we are interested in the creation and use of an avatar. From a clinical case, we show how the avatar can be invested as an interface of communication with the other and with oneself. Another specificity of digital mediation by video games concerns what is called gameplay, that is to say, the set of internal rules of the software. The description of its different functions gives points of reference to how the processes of "symbolization", according to Roussillon, can be mobilized in the video game worlds. Then we describe the specific forms of transfer in the use of the video game medium, based on the technical aspects of the medium and its immersive properties. The description of the different components of the video game set-up highlights the therapeutic potential of this type of medium.