Abstract

Psychoanalytic explanation and understanding of psychosomatic illness and somatic symptoms can, in the broadest sense, be viewed through two main approaches; one that views the symptom as a product of psychic conflict (with its underlying unconscious fantasies) and another that emphasizes a deficiency in the patient’s psychological structure and capacity for symbolic functioning. Both approaches can be linked to the way somatic symptoms are viewed in the context of the psychoanalytic symbol and symbolic function. This paper provides a concise overview of the concept of symbolism and symbolization in psychoanalytic theory, as well as a theoretical view of the role and function of symbolism and symbolization in the understanding of psychosomatic illness.