The article sheds light on setting up home as a metaphor for the gradual process of establishing the self through the home. It examines, from the psychoanalytical viewpoint, the ability to internalize the home with all its accoutrements: physical, mental, spiritual, intrapsychic and interpersonal. The forces strengthening the inner home are examined, alongside those threatening to bring it down. The case of Yael, aged 9½, is presented. In the course of therapy, to which Yael arrived with a vulnerable, fragile self, she built structures which were destined to collapse over and over again, thus reenacting the failure in setting up home. In time, a shift took place, with the initial roles of victim and perpetrator being replaced with a much more reciprocal and committed relationship. Yael's sense of self was strengthened, alongside her capacity to distinguish between the inner world and the external reality. Yael began to experience herself in a more vital and authentic manner, while being much more ensconced in a mutual relationship. Although the eventual separation from the therapist was beyond her control, she succeeded in expressing her feelings about the break without withdrawing into herself as part of a schizoid defence mechanism.
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Journal of Forensic Research received 2328 citations as per Google Scholar report
