Dysregulation and containment in the psychoanalytic psychotherapy of a poorly controlled diabetic patient

Dysregulation, as a phenomenon of disruption in the psychotherapeutic setting, may be evidenced in the psychoanalytic psychotherapy of diabetic patients presenting poor metabolic and treatment control. In the case of a female patient, violations of the setting via acting out behaviors provided an opportunity for working through and understanding in depth the patient's unconscious attempts to activate traumatic childhood experiences and introduce loss and confusion into the relationship with the psychotherapist. Dysregulation was considered in connection with the patient's pathological containment function, in conflicting part self and object representations, and in relation to traumatic experiences of maternal desertion. Improvement of the patient was identified in her relationships with the psychotherapist, significant others, and the medical health providers, as well as in the overall management of her diabetic treatment.