A bibliographic review about the deficit representation of the child in the maternal function

The psychoanalytic clinic infers, on occasions, gaps, absences or omissions in the mothering function that account for a deficit in the way of representing the child. The article addresses a particular mode of child representation, which is referred to as “deficit representation”. This concept alludes to a failure in the psychic availability in the maternal function. The objective of this article is to understand a particular mode of psychic representation: the deficit representation of the child in the maternal function. Although no authors were found that postulate the deficit representation of the child in the maternal function as a specific mode of psychic representation, one author conceptualizes secondary violence as the violence exercised against the self. This is due to the fact that it represents an excess, generally harmful and unnecessary for the functioning of the self, which suggests a deficient representation of the child in the maternal function. It was also found that the mothering function is supportive, meaning that it is associated with a particular way of conceiving and representing the child from the mother's side.