Rom J Psychoanal 2020, 13(1):11
DOI: 10.2478/rjp-2020-0002
Abstract: Even without being a truly psychoanalytic object (in Bionian terms), the secret can be articulated with many elements of psychoanalytic theory and practice. Implied from the start by the psychoanalytic frame (a secure place hidden from the others and from where nothing can `escape` without patient’s accord), or by the analyst’s `neutral` attitude (allowing secrets to be kept as long as needed for the patient and to be revealed in time as `gifts` for the analyst or as revelations for himself), the secret has a structuring function in setting out boundaries between interior and exterior, while also enabling a personal place/space involved in creating personal identity.