Autism Through the Lens of Lacanian Psychoanalysis: A Qualitative Study

Date

2026-2-4

Author

Erten, İrem

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This dissertation examines autism through a Lacanian psychoanalytic framework, focusing on how regulation, bodily experience, and social linkage are organized in adult autism. Based on in-depth qualitative interviews with autistic adults, the study explores experiences of social relations, sensory sensitivity, masking, and diagnosis. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis with a theory-informed interpretative approach. The findings show that regulation is sustained through specific arrangements involving rim formations, repetitive practices, technical supports, and synthetic engagements with language and social norms. These arrangements support bodily containment and relational continuity while requiring considerable effort. Participants’ accounts also highlight the role of diagnosis in reorganizing life narratives and shaping self-understanding.By integrating clinical material with Lacanian concepts such as unary trait, jouissance, and rim, the study contributes to psychoanalytic approaches to autism

Subject Keywords

Autism, Rim, Drive, Qualitative, Diagnose

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/118392

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis