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The imaginary is close to what Freud described within narcissistic phenomena. However, Lacan´s conceptualization differs from Freud's in terms of the development of narcissism. Lacan describes a mirror stage , which is basic for the understanding of the imaginary: a child between six months and one and a half years of age, joyfully recognizes himself in the mirror as a whole being. According to Lacan, behind that image in the mirror, the child perceives his ideal Moi , which is constituted by the ideals that the mother –according to her culture– transmits to the child. The baby has to receive those images in order to please his mother, putting his own individuality at risk. The image of the father reaches the child through the mother’s gaze. In this sense, Lacan´s imaginary, is created from the world surrounding the baby, and as such is transmitted when the baby sees his image reflected in the mirror and when the mother looks at him. V. Acb. André Green Green’s (1972/1986/1990; 1975) main interest is to describe the importance of the symbolizing function within the analytic process. His contributions are of great relevance to psychoanalytical clinical practice in Latin America. In psychoanalytic work with mainly neurotic patients, who have intact capacities to symbolize, the analyst can use his affective capacities and his empathy to make interpretations, in the context of the classical understanding of transference-countertransference. The setting remains mainly in the background. However, in the treatments of borderline and psychosomatic patients, he formulates “1) The role of the analyst within a broader conception of countertransference, including his own imaginative elaboration, (2) the function of the analytic setting and its relation to mental functioning, as shown by the process of symbolization” (Green 1975, p. 2). In this vein, he proposes a broader definition of countertransference, which does not only consider the effects of the analyst’s emotions, but also includes his mental functioning, influenced by his professional and cultural background. In addition, for these patients, the analytical setting is fundamental, due to the constancy, containment, and privacy that it provides: “4. The attention given to the analytic setting and to mental functioning attempted to structure the conditions necessary for the formation of the analytic object through symbolization, by taking into account the intervention of the third element, which is the setting, in the “ dual relationship .” (ibid., p. 18). The work of symbolization is only possible when the setting allows “the birth and development of an object relationship” (ibid., p. 11). Green describes the psychic functioning of these patients, based on different aspects of psychoanalytic processes, highlighting the following:
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