The objective of this article is to discuss the current stage of development of research that is known as Narcissistic Pathologies and Autoimmune Diseases, which has been in course since March 2002, based on a partnership between the Psychology Institute and the Psychiatry Institute of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil This investigation is theoretical and clinical, and is aimed at comparing psychoanalytical care offered to two groups of subjects. The most important fact behind this research is the fact that today we face aspects and realities that habitual theoretical references, centered on the model of hysteria, seem insufficient to explain in the psychoanalytical clinic. We emphasize the methodological specificity applied and some of its main theoretical and clinical aspects. We also offer a brief overview of qualitative research methodology and its possible use in the psychoanalytical field.
Clinical research; psychoanalysis; qualitative methodology; narcisistic pathologies