CLINICAL
ISSUES
CLINICAL PERSPECTIVES ON EXCLUSION AND ECONOMIC ASSIGNMENT: THE SUBJECT’S RESISTANCE
ABSTRACT
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Context and Problematic
Contemporary social exclusion cannot be understood as a simple rupture of social ties or as a position outside society. Individuals living on the street are not disconnected from social discourse; on the contrary, they are deeply embedded in dominant economic logics that assign them to positions of assistance, rehabilitation, and social devaluation. The pervasive intrusion of economism into social policies and clinical practices tends to reify the excluded subject, reducing them to a form of social waste to be reinserted into the market. The central problematic addressed here is how to conceptualize exclusion clinically without submitting the subject to a strict economic determinism, and how to recognize subjective forms of resistance to these socio-economic assignments.
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Objectives
This work pursues two main objectives. First, it aims to demonstrate that exclusion does not imply a systematic breakdown of social bonds but rather constitutes a specific mode of social linkage shaped by economic imperatives. Second, it seeks to identify and analyze the subjective solutions developed by excluded individuals, particularly symptomatic responses that resist normative injunctions. The text also aims to draw clinical implications that preserve an ethics of subjectivity in highly normativized contexts.
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Method
The analysis is based on an interdisciplinary framework combining psychoanalytic theory, social sciences, and philosophy, alongside clinical fieldwork conducted through humanitarian outreach and street-based clinical practices. The methodological approach is qualitative and clinical, emphasizing close attention to subjective expressions, identificatory processes, and the dynamics of the bond to the Other.
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Results
Clinical observations reveal that excluded subjects exhibit complex symptomatic responses, including inhibition, depressive syndromes, paradoxical demands, and specific identificatory positions. Among these responses, urban wandering emerges as a particularly significant subjective solution. Wandering is not merely a pathological displacement but a structured trajectory without direction, capable of producing a relief of psychic suffering. Subjects report a suspension of the experience of being social waste and a temporary transformation of their subjective position.
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Interpretation
Wandering is interpreted as a symptomatic protest against social and economic reification. By reactivating the associative chain through spatial movement, wandering introduces indeterminacy into the subject’s status and opens the possibility for renewed identification. It functions as a resistance to normative fixation imposed by the socio-economic order. The clinical perspective thus reveals that the symptom is not merely pathological but operates as a singular form of resistance, calling for a rethinking of clinical practices beyond purely economic or functional logics.
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WHITE NEUROSIS OR THE PSYCHOPATHOLOGY OF ALIENATION
White neurosis designates a type of neurotic suffering that resists symbolization and eludes clinical visibility, precisely because it is shaped by the very codes and norms that structure what is considered “normal” or even “desirable” in late‑capitalist societies. In this regard, it aligns with analyses of neoliberal affective governance, where emotional expression is regulated by norms of positivity, performance, and individual responsibility (Cabanas & Illouz, 2019). The subject marked by white neurosis does not exhibit traditional neurotic conflicts rendered in metaphorical language; instead, they suffer silently from a de‑symbolization of their interior world. Their affects, though present, are anesthetized, muted, or diverted; their inner conflicts, though intense, are rendered inexpressible by the absence of symbolic scaffolding. This is not the silence of repression in the classical Freudian sense, but a deeper blanching of signification itself—an inability to give colour to psychic life.
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Psycho-educational interventions for therapeutic settings: Addressing neuro-psycho-somatic mechanisms in internet and social media use
Psycho-education in therapeutic settings aims to help individuals understand the unconscious mechanisms shaping their interactions with the digital world. Internet and social media use is not just a behavioral issue; it is deeply intertwined with neuro-psycho-somatic processes that condition perception, cognition, and emotional regulation. Research has demonstrated that digital environments exploit brain functions to maximize engagement, often at the expense of psychological well-being (Montag et al., 2019; Orben et al., 2019).
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Neuroscientific studies reveal that prolonged social media use alters neural pathways, particularly in the reward system. A study by Montag et al. (2019) highlights how social media platforms manipulate dopamine-driven reinforcement mechanisms, fostering compulsive behaviors akin to substance addiction. The same study notes that frequent digital engagement reshapes neural plasticity, particularly in the prefrontal cortex, impacting attention regulation and impulse control.
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Stress research indicates that excessive online exposure contributes to dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, increasing cortisol levels (He et al., 2017). Chronic stress resulting from digital hyper-stimulation weakens immune function, leading to heightened susceptibility to inflammation, fatigue, and cognitive impairment (McEwen, 2017). These findings align with broader research in psychoneuroimmunology, which links prolonged stress exposure to systemic inflammation and neurobiological decline.
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Autistic Sensitization of Western Individual and the War against the Self
This work explores the profound impact of cybercapitalism on human behavior, emotional regulation, and societal norms, arguing that the pervasive digital environment fosters hypersensitivity akin to autistic traits, such as heightened emotional reactivity, hyperfocus, and social navigation challenges. Unlike the neurodevelopmental origins of autism spectrum conditions, this hypersensitivity emerges from the external pressures of algorithmic manipulation, performance-driven metrics, and hyper-individualistic ideologies inherent in cybercapitalist systems. By examining these dynamics, the work situates the commodification of emotional reactivity as a central mechanism driving cycles of consumption, burnout, and self-alienation.
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The paths followed in this exploration are diverse and interconnected. First, it draws on interdisciplinary perspectives, including neurobiology, psychology, and cultural analysis, to unpack the mechanisms underlying this hypersensitivity. Second, it integrates critiques from thinkers such as Laurent Alexandre and Christopher Wylie, who highlight how technological systems intentionally cultivate traits that sustain engagement and profitability. Third, it leverages metaphors such as Poenaru’s depiction of the West as an autoimmune disease to frame the psycho-immunological dynamics of self-fragmentation. Finally, the work proposes actionable alternatives, advocating for a shift from the self-centered values perpetuated by cybercapitalism toward solidarity, collective care, and the ethical design of digital platforms.
Alienation: the Impossible Elaboration
Despite the potential omnipresence of (economic) alienation in contemporary cyber-capitalist societies, the concept is still repressed within the disciplines of psychology, psychiatry, and psychopathological theorizing. Two interpretations could shed light on this massive political and ideological repression, potentially harmful to the mental health of populations. The first would start from the assumption that Western propaganda, culture, and politics have been working tirelessly for decades to obliterate Marxist ideas associated with the red peril (communism), academic stigmatization, and intellectual obsolescence. The ideology of progress, innovation, and the well-being of Western societies has contributed to the minimization of history and critique. Thus, intellectuals and clinicians have themselves succumbed, consciously or unconsciously, to this ideology.
The neurotic-borderline-capitalist agenda
Welcome The "neurotic-borderline-capitalist agenda" can be understood as a systematic effort by cybercapitalism to shape individuals who are divided between neurosis and borderline structures. This dual structuring creates subjects who are simultaneously productive and pathologically dependent—"sufficiently normal" to function as workers and "sufficiently pathological" to drive consumption. This dynamic reflects a calculated strategy to optimize economic utility, ensuring individuals remain trapped within the cycles of production and consumption.
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