In this article, the author discusses the role of personality in the construction of the diagnosis. He emphasises that the formulation of the diagnosis is the meeting of two personalities: that of the patient and that of the therapist. From a dynamic perspective, what the clinician must pay attention to is the psychological assessment, i.e. a series of evaluations of an individual’s psychological and psychopathological conditions. It is through the succession of encounters that it is possible to grasp not only the disorder and symptom from which the individual suffers, but also the individual’s defence mechanisms, representations of himself, of others and of relationships, psychological resources, his capacity for mentalisation, socio-cultural context and environmental conditions.
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