Procesos subjetivos del duelo por amputación en pacientes internados en un hospital de Guayaquil.

Abstract

The research, essentially descriptive, addressed the subjective processes of grief following amputation. This work was of utmost importance because patients undergoing a surgical procedure such as amputation not only face physical problems but also emotional and psychological difficulties that influence their adherence to treatment. The general objective was to investigate the subjective processes of grief following amputation in patients hospitalized in a Guayaquil hospital through a qualitative study, as a contribution to the clinical understanding of clinical psychologists following a psychoanalytic orientation. The results highlighted that grief following amputation constitutes a relationship with subjective processes, as it is not limited to the physical dimension of the loss but involves profound transformations in body image, narcissism, body symbolization, and the connection with the Other. Thus, the case study made it possible to determine that for patients, amputation is not experienced solely as a medical procedure, but as a disruption in the continuity of their lives, generating a break in the way they identified themselves.