[Swan Song: The Advent of the Psychotic Nucleus]

Different forms of artistic expression, such as literature and cinema, constitute an inexhaustible source for the study of mental illness. The use of psychodynamic models may contribute to a better understanding of the spectrum between personality disorders and the psychosis spectrum, thus enriching the phenomenological approach in the psychiatric clinical practice.

To examine from psychodynamic standpoints the main character of the American film Black Swan, and the nature of her psychotic symptoms.

Reviewing of sources and relevant theoretical currents.

Analysis shows the usefulness of a psychodynamically- oriented dimensional model for understanding the so-called psychotic breaks as well as the applicability of psychoanalytic psychosis theories in general psychiatric practice, as they may provide a more flexible clinical approach, closer to the patient's subjective experience.