In contemporary psychoanalysis, a key concept and aim of clinical
practice is to distinguish the boundaries of any mental state. Without
this boundary-setting, the patient has nothing but the 'formless
infinite' of primitive mental states. Formless Infinity: Clinical
Explorations of Matte Blanco and Bion draws on the work of these two
authors to explore how analysts can work with patients to reveal,
understand and ultimately contain their primitive mental states.
Riccardo Lombardi discusses the core concepts of the unconscious, the
role of the body in analysis, time and death. He displays the clinical
implications of Matte Blanco's theoretical extension of Freud's theory
of the unconscious, presenting numerous clinical examples of working
with psychosis and other severe pathologies.
Formless Infinity, a stimulating teaching text for students, trainers
and seasoned mental health practitioners, is essential reading for
psychoanalysts and psychoanalytic psychotherapists. It is particularly
recommended to analysts interested in widening the scope of the analytic
practice by exploring the functioning of the deep unconscious, primitive
mental states, psychosomatic pathologies and psychotic conditions.