Psychic Envelope Research Articles

Processus de maternité et fonctionnement limite : une approche longitudinale à l’aide du Rorschach

ObjectivesThis article aims to study the psychic changes during maternity in primiparous women without psychic and organic disorders and to put into perspective the reorganizations during the maternity process in patients with a borderline psychic functioning. MethodThis paper is based on longitudinal data collected with the Rorschach test. Two clinical cases revealing this processual dynamic will be analyzed and discussed. ResultsThe analysis of Rorschach protocols of two women with different psychic elaboration capacities reveals an experience of boundary invasions linked to the precariousness of psychic envelopes between the end of pregnancy and the beginning of postpartum, followed by a reinforcement of certain defensive mechanisms post-delivery in order to compensate for the state of disorganization linked to the processes of motherhood. DiscussionThe analysis of these data will allow us to observe modalities of psychic arrangements specific to the maternity process as well as reorganizations, close to a “symbolization catastrophe”. ConclusionThe psychic dispositions of women during maternity allow us to detect borderline arrangements of psychic functioning during this period.

Clinical identification of a specific psychic envelope in families with anorexic symptoms.

Our clinical experience in psychoanalytic family therapy with families where one member has anorexic symptoms has shown that the therapy space is often invaded by the deathly dimension, by an absence of family historicity, and by a lack of autonomy. These different elements appear as "voids," missing pieces of a family puzzle, and reflect a psychic container damaged by the weight of inherited intergenerational trauma. Rather than disappear, these elements are passed down from one generation to the next, their effects weakening the current group whose psychic envelope develops "holes" and becomes "elastic." This paper will focus on the changes in this psychic container, which shift according to the rhythm of family functioning, oscillating between activation of the deathly toxic function within the group, on the one hand, and tension between the isomorphic and homomorphic mode, on the other. We will show how this clinical identification around the quality of the psychic envelope and its changes is valuable for family therapy.

Impact de la maltraitance sur le fonctionnement psychologique et le vécu corporel de l’enfant

ObjectivesThe impact of maltreatment (physical, psychological or severe neglect) on the psychological, affective and cognitive functioning and body experience of children aged six to twelve years using projective media. MethodologyA qualitative and partially quantitative and prospective study of the following variables: quality of life, emotional and psychopathological functioning, intellectual functioning, psychic functioning and body image. Investigation tools: Wisc-V, depression scale (MDI-C), quality of life self-assessment survey (AUQUEI), CAT, self-portrait, modeling of figurines in plasticine and semi-directive interview. PopulationTen children aged six to twelve years, in care at Clairs-Vallons (a medical-psychological residential institution, Belgium). ResultsThe maltreatment of a child has an impact on the probability of depression (higher than average), on anxiety, on intelligence quotient (more heterogeneous profiles), on self-esteem and on the defensive mechanisms of children. The primary defense mechanisms are to affect distancing, inhibition, cleavage and fragmentation. Disturbances of the body image are noted by the realization of fragmented, damaged and perforated bodies of the figurine models. The models are disproportioned, see-through, some parts of the body left unassembled or juxtaposed. The analysis of the data highlights separation anxieties linked to the disorganized/disoriented attachment style (difficulties in managing separation anxiety), insecurity or anxiety about a part of the body, a certain inability to elaborate a sufficiently organized psychic envelope, a tendency to flee and a hostility in the social relationship. ConclusionAbuse has a significant impact on the psychological development of children aged 6–12 years. The integration of the more physical aspects, in particular through the use of modeling, allows access to the traumatic bodily experience and to the (non)-integration of sensory, emotional and relational experiences of the child.

« Hartung Study » : vivre en soi pendant sept jours. Exploration phénoménologique et psychanalytique d’une performance d’Abraham Poincheval associée à une œuvre de Hans Hartung

AimsThis article describes the setting up and the psychological analysis of a performance by the artist Abraham Poincheval in the framework of a collaboration with the Hartung-Bergman Foundation. Beyond the aesthetic dimension of the piece, the aim of this work was to study the physiological and psychological effects induced by sitting in an enclosed space over a long period of time. MethodAbraham Poincheval remained for a week in a sculpture molded to his dimensions, with a cone located at eye level that allowed him to see a painting by Hans Hartung. Physiological measurements (EEG, temperature), audio recordings, and microphenomenological interviews were used to study the effects of this performance. A psychoanalytical analysis was also carried out in order to better understand the creative process and the psychic processes at work in this performance. ResultsThe phenomenological analysis highlights the astonishing malleability of the psyche, which manages to cope with a very uncomfortable situation that nevertheless leads to dissociative states. The perception of space, time, and the body is transformed, as well as the perception of the work, which leads to phenomena of pareidolia, hallucinatory processes, and negative hallucinations. In a general way, the collapse of the duration of the paradoxical sleep seems to be associated with oniroid states that support the hallucinatory processes and experiences between dreaming and sleeping. DiscussionThe sculpture could represent the setting up of a “Self-shell” in reaction to fragile psychic envelopes of the register of the first containers of thought. The sculpture can also be thought of as a cocoon that can induce psychic states that promote different forms of explorations and transformations of the subjective experience. This performance can also be considered an expression of unsymbolized psychic elements, which further emphasizes the constraining dimension of certain components of the work. The trauma clinic is finally approached in mirror of Hartung's work in echo of what the latter may have experienced during the Second World War. ConclusionThe fact of remaining seated, in a confined space, generates important transformations of the perception of space, time, and the body. This also leads to oniroid states that encourage the phenomena of pareidolia and hallucinatory processes. For all that, the psyche seems to be able to adapt to these extreme conditions, which demonstrates its astonishing capacities of adaptation.

Enveloppes psychiques précoces : la difficulté d’être contenant auprès d’un bébé en retrait relationnel

ContextAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) results from a complex interaction between innate factors of the infant and their environment. Many risk factors have been identified. The difficulties in physical organization of at-risk children can allow us to identify the most fragile infants at birth. The baby in relational withdrawal can teach us about the part played by the infant in the weaving of early psychic envelopes. Research on babies who have become autistic children demonstrates disturbances in their motor skills, from their general movements to difficulties with body organization. The infant's sensorimotor difficulties hinder the expression of subjectivity. They also have an impact on the parents’ ability to interpret the signs coming from the baby. It is difficult for a parent to be the receptacle of the intentions of a baby who does not seem to be addressing its parent. An accompaniment of the parents supports them in their capacity to provide a secure “container” for their baby. A transdisciplinary team ensuring the continuity of the group psychic envelope may be necessary to establish harmony between the baby and their environment. ObjectivesThe goal of early post-natal care is to support parents so that they feel they are the receptacle to the baby's intentions. We want the baby to be able to actively engage in the relationship with its parent from the first months of its life, despite any sensorimotor difficulties that may be present. MethodIn this theoretical reflection on the difficulties of containment with a baby in relational withdrawal, we develop the theoretical-clinical bases which underlie our work as care providers. We focus here mainly on supporting parents in the containing function they occupy as the organizing center of their baby's instinctual life. ResultsThe result targeted by this treatment is the entry of the baby into goal-directed movement towards the other from 4 months, as evaluated by the Préaut grid, within the framework of a pleasant relationship of shared pleasure. We promote the establishment of a relationship in which the parent can both perceive the signs emitted by their baby while being attentive to their own internal experience. Particular attention is paid to joint listening. From this theoretical-clinical base stems the current practice of a transdisciplinary team and two ongoing research projects.

Dedans et hors les murs : l’espace comme enveloppe. Comparaison de deux dispositifs groupaux à médiation pour enfants

ContextThe article is situated in the field of group psychotherapy for children and refers to psychoanalytical metapsychology. It presents two clinical experiments around two group therapeutic interventions that question, each in their own way : being “inside” and “outside” the walls, the problematic of space as a psychic envelope and the related therapeutic processes. ObjectivesThe authors set out to develop and comment several clinical sequences, comparing the two therapeutic devices. MethodIt is based on evidence from practice, i.e. evaluating the psychic processes at work in this clinical experimentation. ResultsBased on sensorimotricity, the “non-human” dimension of the space of the therapeutic framework and the “human” groupality would participate in the process of constitution-reconstitution of psychic envelopes, allowing the emergence of narrativity through playing and through progression in space. ConclusionThe centrifugal and centripetal motility identified in these two therapeutic groups, as well as the spatial representations implemented in support of movement and its temporal organization, serve as a basis for the subjective appropriation by narrativity.

La compulsion de répétition et le processus de recouvrement : approches transdisciplinaires des enveloppes psychiques

ContextIt is from our clinical practice in the “High Security Inpatient Unit” that we have been confronted with the compulsion to repeat and more specifically with the repetition of violent or even murderous acts. ObjectivesIn order to be able to think through fear in the transference, in the encounter with these patients, whose psychic arrangements fall within the field of psychosis, as well as the intrusion of both the physical and psychic envelopes that results from it, we have been interested in art and astrophysics. By proceeding in this way by analogy, we can modelize a topical representation of the psychic apparatus. MethodThis article proposes a transdisciplinary exploration of psychic envelopes in the case of Mr. N. – following the methodology of the single case, to think through the symbolization of violent action and of what we have termed the covering process. ResultsThe aim here, in a qualitative approach, is to highlight the violent act starting from a double articulation between psychoanalysis and art, on the one hand, and psychoanalysis and astrophysics, on the other, in order to think through the work of symbolizing treatment by covering traumas as a fight against psychic dissolution. In doing so, it allows us to envisage a covering process in successive, superimposed envelopes, one might say, as many attempts to neutralize the affect of terror. InterpretationsThese transdisciplinary perspectives lead us to conceptualize a primordial psychic material at the confines of the “figurable” and the “symbolizable,” thus allowing us to think about the extensions of psychoanalysis and illuminate the psychopathological formations falling within the field of extreme suffering in the domains of subjects’ narcissism and identity.

Le groupe comme enveloppe psychique en temps de pandémie et de barbarie au Brésil

ContextThe context experienced by the Brazilian population in 2020 was, and has remained, one of precariousness regarding health, economics, and politics. A platform was created in March of that year, where more than 4200 psychologists voluntarily registered to provide online assistance to healthcare professionals on the front-line of the combat against COVID-19. The project also included support network for these psychologists. ObjectivesThis article aims to present and discuss one of the modes of support offered by the platform: the “elaboration groups” by showing the constitution of their psychic envelope. MethodThis article takes the form of a case study based on the concept of psychic envelope developed by the theories of Anzieu, Houzel and Ciccone. For the purpose of this analysis, the scenes of two groups were brought together, one coordinated by two coordinators and the other by one. The main objective of the groups was to provide a space where the participants could discuss and think about the clinical experience they were having in the project. ResultsWe can distinguish three moments in the history of the groups: a first one, of formation, during which the psychologists arrived trying to create contours and exchange, but in a desperate and rigid way. However, the capacity developed by the groups to welcome what everyone had to say allowed the creation of an extremely affectionate bond between the participants. A second moment, when the recognition of the importance of the encounter with the other and the recovery of individual capacities generated a return to culture and to the social pact. And finally, the moment when the groups were coming to an end, which served as a ritual in the process of mourning the “life” that each person had lived, allowing the release of each one's libido for the constitution of new life projects. ConclusionWe noticed that the notion of who was the real patient of the platform tended to get lost, as the psychologists also relied on the network to cope with their anguish. Two tasks were thus fulfilled: the one initially foreseen of support to the assistance given by the psychologists to the healthcare professionals; and another, of a psychic envelope sufficiently firm and elastic to allow a quantum of drive connection necessary to survive and dream.

De l’entropie au principe de l’énergie libre : métapsychologie de la pulsion de mort et des enveloppes psychiques. Partie 2

ContextThis paper proposes an overview of the articulation between psychoanalytic metapsychology and contemporary work in cognitive neurosciences concerning entropy and the free energy principle. ObjectiveThe objective is to bring these two disciplines into dialogue in order to clarify the fundamental principles of psychoanalytical metapsychology and to better understand the development of the psychic apparatus. MethodsAfter having described the theory of envelopes as Markov chains proposed by the neuroscientist Karl Friston, we sum up the theory of psychic envelopes developed by psychoanalysis. ResultsIt appears that the psychic apparatus must integrate and bind free energy, at its different levels, by the creation of envelopes and the internalization of early intersubjective relationships. InterpretationsIt is possible to consider different forms of psychopathologies as resulting from defects of this work of regulation and transformation, based on the principles of free energy and entropy.

Des enveloppes institutionnelles aux enveloppes psychiques : réflexions sur l’intérêt d’un dispositif de contenance à plusieurs niveaux en foyer de l’enfance

ContextIn order to emphasise the importance of prevention with regard to institutional deficiencies, we outline here a direct observation method which could be established in a children's home. ObjectiveThe objective is to demonstrate how work on institutional containment at several levels aims to create an “institutional skin”, essential to avoid mirroring by adults caring for vulnerable children. MethodsThe article seeks to put into perspective the history of a specific place (Foyer Parent de Rosan), the application of psychoanalytic theories of psychic envelopes, and clinical and institutional work with a child aged 24 to 30 months entrusted to Children's Social Services. ResultsThe presentation seeks to evaluate this method and underline its potentially therapeutic effects. InterpretationsSpecific institutional development work is necessary in order that achievements regarding the prevention of deficiency factors are not called into question.

Des échos tactiles, rythmiques et thermiques, constituants des enveloppes psychiques

ContextThis article is an opening to the debate on psychic envelopes according to Didier Anzieu, after an international colloquium organised mainly by Denis Mellier in Besançon, with the laboratory of psychology of the University of Franche-Comté. ObjectivesOur discussions during the symposium on psychic envelopes led us to propose the deepening of the notions developed by Didier Anzieu, namely the rhythmic and thermal echoes, which are constituents of the psychic envelopes. MethodWe propose three clinical situations from our practical experience in nursery and in nephrology-dialysis in order to illustrate these notions of echotactilism, echorythmy and echothermy. ResultsBeyond what these notions illustrate as such within the clinical situations presented, we discuss this psychic advent constituted by our sensory envelopes, namely this passage between corporeality and corporality, from a bodythat we have to a body that we are. body that we have to a body that we are. ConclusionBased on the “ego-matter” proposed by Guy Lavallée, we propose an “ego-somesthesia” in reflection, a step between this “ego-matter” and the “ego-chair” proposed by Didier Anzieu. Didier Anzieu had also indicated to us the progressive passages from the ego-chair to the envelopes to semiotics. Finally, we recall the psychoanalytical implication of considering the soma, the body, sometimes very concretely, so that these considerations are actively thought out.

Clinique de l’obésité : entre (re)construction de l’enveloppe psychique et intériorisation de la fonction contenante

ContextObesity is a chronic nutritional disease, the treatment of which is carried out medically or surgically. However, whatever the treatments offered, this clinic of obesity can be considered as a clinic of resistance to weight loss, where psychopathological swings and psychosomatic collapses are regularly observed. In this context, the concept of a psychic envelope can be structuring to think about the treatment from the beginning, or to propose an explanation of their failures. ObjectiveIllustrate and underline the interest of the concept of psychic envelope in the clinic of severe obesity, based on two clinical vignettes from our practices. MethodAs part of a research partnership between France and Turkey, we present two clinical vignettes of patients with obesity and wishing to lose weight. The first is the story of the psychotherapy of a French patient, who wishes to lose weight using a medical approach. The second is a comparison before and after bariatric surgery in a Turkish patient, based on data from the clinical interview and the Rorschach projective technique. ResultsThe concept of psychic envelope appears particularly enlightening to think about the clinic of eating disorders and obesity. From the traumatic history of the subject and/or his/her family, it seems relevant to identify whether these events have led to an alteration of the psychic envelopes, and then characterize the psychic meaning to be given to eating disorders and obesity. ConclusionWe propose recommendations for the psychological treatment of obesity and eating disorders. The psychotherapeutic objective, in parallel with the medical and surgical approaches to weight loss, will be to reconstruct the psychic envelopes, by internalizing the containing function, and (re)activating the work of mentalization.

Enveloppes psychiques et destin des enveloppes psychiques dans la créativité groupale

ContextThe literature on group psychoanalysis–whether on a national or international scale -- contains few references to group creativity. This article is situated in this under-explore field; more specifically, we propose to question the interactions between the dynamics of the formation of individual and group psychic envelopes and the emergence of the creative process in a group. ObjectivesOur research work pursues the general objective of showing that the emergence of the creative process in a group comes after a modification of the texture of the individual and group psychic envelopes. MethodWe use a working method that is based on a theoretical and epistemological exploration of group creativity and psychic envelopes. It is also based on qualitative research, using the analysis of psychodrama sessions carried out in the context of a supervision of employees of a governmental agency in southwestern France. In this perspective, we carried out an analysis of the individual and group associative chains as well as transferential and countertransferential movements. ResultsThe results obtained confirm the close links between the creative process and the formation and organization of individual and group psychic envelopes. InterpretationsMore broadly, we propose to interpret the emergence of creativity in the supervision group as a modality of the working-through of a potential shared trauma, in this case the violence inflicted on the employees by the population they serve.

From functional dissociation to creativity in groups: The effects of a pandemic on a dance company

This article explores group creativity following the lockdown in France from March to May 2020. Questioning its impact on established groups led us to formulate two hypotheses. First, the announcement of these measures provoked what Anzieu (1981) has referred to as a ‘state of creative shock’ in existing group structures. Second, the psychic envelope of these groups enabled a group creativity to emerge and be sustained. We support these remarks with an analysis of non-directive and semi-directive interviews (Lincoln, 1995) as well as recordings of sessions of a contemporary dance company, which were carried out via the Zoom platform throughout the lockdown period.

Porosité, rigidité, équilibre : formes et interactions des enveloppes dans la médiation par l’écriture

ObjectivesAdolescents who have been placed in foster homes are confronted with the challenge of reconstructing themselves from a traumatic childhood history. The placement also confronts them with often unstable or incoherent environments. Negative life events and inconsistencies in the environments then participate in the development of pathologies based on early traumatic relationships. These pathologies can lead to agitation and ego splitting. This phenomenon results from a disruption in the formation of psychological and environmental envelopes. When these envelopes cannot ensure their protective and representative functions, the emergence of the processes of thought is complicated. From a psychotherapeutic point of view, group therapeutic activities based on writing seem particularly adapted to the mobilization of envelopes. These group activities are made up of a diversity of envelopes whose interactions can facilitate the remobilization of symbolization processes, the emergence of the containing structures of thought and its contents. Indeed, the relationship between the subject and these envelopes (group, materials, narrative…) contributes to the lateralization of the transference. These envelopes also lead to the formation of a containing group and psychic space. MethodsWe conducted a therapeutic writing activity with seven adolescents entrusted to the child welfare services and placed in foster care. The activity was designed to provide the adolescents with the necessary material for a free and undirected creative process, based on the rule of free association. We use the methodology of the single case study and the analysis of contrasted cases, combined with a clinical analysis of group and symbolization processes. The aim of this analysis is to highlight the interactions that exist between the psychic envelopes and their implications for the representative processes and evolution of the subjectivity of these adolescents. ResultsRomane, David, and Karene are three adolescents who participated in the writing therapy. The study of the individual processes and interactions between the subjects and the group show that the ruptures, rigidities, and porosities in the envelopes can be interpreted both as disorganizing phenomena of subjectivity, but also as prerequisites for the consolidation of a containing function, which subsequently enables the emergence of thought processes. DiscussionThe envelopes take different forms during the therapy, revealing the organization of these adolescents’ subjectivity and the processes that also shake up the group space. A primary capacity for porosity seems to favor the emergence of transformative processes, while on the contrary, the absence of this capacity seems to durably inscribe the subject in a position of passivity and withdrawal from the relationship. Moreover, the simultaneous presence of the malleable characteristics of the medium and the adaptability of the therapist contribute to the promotion of these adolescents’ representative capacity via narrative processes. This narrative capacity also allows for links to be formed between the adolescents within the group, a source of appeasement and of possible co-creativity. ConclusionThe various envelopes that constitute therapeutic writing make it a particularly relevant medium with populations entrusted to the child welfare system. These envelopes constitute a variety of sources of symbolization.

Créativité numérique et innovation thérapeutique : recréer un lieu de soin sur Minecraft

ObjectivesToday, video games are recognized as an excellent tool for therapeutic mediation with young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), playing the role of a malleable medium facilitating the evolution of group dynamics and creating a play area between the child and the adult, a space of creativity and shared pleasure allowing them to “be together,” to communicate, and to enter into a secure and holding-type intersubjective relationship. This is why we wanted to maintain this type of treatment during the general lockdown imposed in France in March 2020. MethodWe set up a virtual activity based on the use of the video game Minecraft, after having reconstituted our outpatient clinic for children and adolescents on a private server. Following the end of the lockdown, we were able to experiment with two workshops: one face-to-face; and the other in video therapy. ResultsWe were able to observe similarities and differences in the use of this medium by our young ASD patients, but also in the way in which this treatment allowed us to “put a little institution” back into the daily lives of youth during lockdown. Thus, we were able to see that the content of the Minecraft game, and more specifically the reconstructed clinic, functioned as a space of holding for the adolescents. The comparison between the digital institution and the real institution was present throughout the session in the adolescents’ exploratory actions. However, they were never “tricked” by this virtual reality, each one considering this digital clinic as a simple simulation of the institution where they go for treatment. DiscussionIt should be noted, however, that this type of mediation is not the easiest to set up for a team of professionals. Indeed, we were confronted with certain difficulties, notably the amount of time required to recreate the clinic in the game, problems with the private servers, the quality of the hardware, and the extraordinary public health situation. ConclusionThis therapeutic workshop with digital mediation allowed the very early establishment of a group dynamic and of a group psychic envelope. Therapy sessions conducted in Minecraft allowed us to work on group dynamics, on the real and digital representations of a place of care, on the children's identity references (therapeutic groups, home, etc.), and on their capacity to play in a group. The adolescents enrolled were able to individually search for their own identity markers, according to their place in the institution. Finally, the Minecraft project allowed for the emergence of many interactions and shared emotions between the members of the therapeutic group (children and adults).

Hezbollah: Lebanon’s identified patient?

In this article, I interpret Hezbollah’s birth and role in Lebanon’s sociopolitical life from a group and family psychoanalytic perspective. In particular, I examine whether Hezbollah, as one of Lebanon’s “children,” can be seen as the “designated patient” and “symptom” of its large family, nation-state “incestual” dynamics and complicated separation and individuation process. As a designated patient, Hezbollah performs the double-sided function of gluing its fragmented nation-state together while carrying the weight of being its breaking force. In this logic, Hezbollah’s paradoxical role in the Lebanese nation-state family would be similar to that of a “scapegoat/Messiah,” who carries both the family’s incestual dynamics and internal tensions and its hope for a solid and cohesive nation-state identity. To build a cohesive nation-state identity, Hezbollah’s ideology acts as a prosthesis for Lebanon’s narcissistic fragility, which replenishes the narcissistic hemorrhage of its perforated bodily and psychic envelopes. I also reflect on whether a national mediation process informed by a group psychoanalytic approach could help Lebanon constitute a more functional ego-nation-state and thus renounce the need for a designated patient. Hezbollah would be better capable of giving up its pathological ideological position.

Beyond the death drive: Entropy and free energy

ABSTRACT In this paper I offer an overview of the possible links between psychoanalytical metapsychology and contemporary work in neuroscience concerning entropy and the free energy principle. After briefly describing the theory of living systems put forward by the neuroscientist Karl Friston based on the notion of entropy, we sum up the use of the notion of free energy by Friston and Freud. I then analyze how these notions improve the intelligibility of psychic functioning and can be associated with several psychoanalytical concepts, in particular the death drive. I approach from the same perspective the regulation of free energy associated with psychic envelopes and early intersubjectivity. It thus appears that the psychic apparatus can be considered at its different levels, from the most primary to the most secondary, as having the essential function of reducing entropy and free energy. Various forms of “failure” of this process of linking, regulation and transformation of energy within the psychic apparatus could be considered as the origin of different psychopathological manifestations as suggested in the last part of this paper.

Traverser l’institution de soins au temps fragile de l’adolescence

By exposing on the institutional level the sufferings of his present, the adolescent talks to us about his history, the damaged, destroyed or uninhabited links which mark out his life trajectory and arise in this “meantime” of his existence in so many painful shards in the internal world of his psyche and in the body. During their journey through the care institution, we work with these adolescents and their families, in this space-time, on what could help to reduce the internal breaking lines so that they can again start moving their subjective capacities to think and act in the world. Our work ethic is based on the specific capacity of each institutional actor to deploy his/her containing psychic envelopes around young patients; symbolized deployment of the containing function by the time to think about the care for the caregiver, the time to consent to it in a safe way for the adolescent, then for the latter the time once again acceptable to explore the field of possibilities.

Birth of a nation‐state: A battle for boundaries or dialogue?

AbstractIn this article, I propose extending group and family psychoanalytic theories to understand the unconscious dynamics that may underlie a nation‐state's constitution and the conflict that manifests during the process of establishment. I reflect on Lebanon's history, its birth, its development, and its crises during its process of “becoming.” An independent nation‐state requires clear borders or a body envelope to build itself; otherwise, its psychic envelope will fail to contain and transform primitive transgenerational persecutory and annihilating anxieties of its nation‐group and its citizens. I also analyze whether Lebanon's difficulty in delineating its borders has left it in a state of confusion with its two Siamese neighbors and characterize its group psychic apparatus as a pregenital, narcissistic, “incestual” mode of family functioning. I then reflect on whether Lebanese citizens are metaphorically part objects, who enact, through their fraternal pacts, the unconscious fratricidal fantasies of the archaic fraternal complex. Through these psychoanalytic reflections, I hope to contribute to the national and international dialogues and facilitate sibling countries to better mourn their original symbiotic state, thus allowing the Lebanese, as a result, to build their own nation‐state.