The Couch and the Chador

Student: Elena Islamova

Educational Programme: Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytical Psychotherapy (Master)

Year of Graduation: 2024

This paper examines the role of the veil (an element of the Islamic dress code) for the mental functioning of a Muslim patient within the analytical situation. The theoretical task of the study is the concept of the Skin-Ego by Didier Anzieu, the “second skin” by Esther Bick and the works of other authors who studied the role of the skin and membrane in the functioning of the bodily and mental self. Clinical vignettes are presented of working with patients who begin analysis while veiled, and, in accordance with the atmosphere of resistance to the analytic situation, going through the process of unveiling and re-veiling.

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