[Dynamic aspects of depressive states]

The author introduces his subject by giving a synthetic definition of the depressive states and of the psychoanalytical concept of a depressive personality; a brief reference is made on the subject of precipitating factors and the general psychodynamic consequences found in depressive states. Various clinical and dynamic aspects of depression are then observed, following specific personality structures and more so in borderline patients; the author shows how through a metapsychological approach, a differential diagnosis between melancholia and schizophrenic depression can be made. The author concludes that there is no continuity between the various depressive states; that is to say that if identical psychodynamic processes are in play, the semiological differences are the consequences of the underlying personality structure.