Joan: 'It itches, it burns': psychoanalytic approach to a case of vulvar burning syndrome

The care report of Joan, a 20-year-old girl, suffering from vulvar burning syndrome (vulvodynia), illustrates how under certain circumstances, the bod y expresses what the mind and words are unable to formulate. The skin and t he genital sphere are areas rich in symbolic expression because of their cl ose connection with relational and emotional life. It is up to the dermatol ogist and the gynecologist to detect the signs of the psychic pain behind t he somatic complaint. Contrary to other cases of vulvodynia previously repo rted loan had never suffered from real sexual or physical abuse, but experi enced her emotional and sexual life in a painfully conflictual way. Through Joan's psychoanalytic work, we attempt to show the benefits of such an app roach in the search for a better quality of life for these patients. A clos e collaboration between the physician and the psychotherapist is needed to improve the treatment of pathologies involved in a chronic pain syndrome, w here psychological factors may play an important part.