[Psychoanalysis of self injury]

Psychoanalytic aspects of diseases with self-inflicted mutilation (factitious diseases and Munchhausen syndrome) have been investigated increasingly within the last years in the setting of long term ambulatory and hospital treatments. The author describes in this report how these disease states may also be interpreted as equivalents of remembrance and can be understood as inadequate attempts for self assistance. He outlines possibilities for psychotherapy arising in view of this background.