Delusional themes of penetration and loss of boundaries and their relation to early sexual trauma in psychotic disorder

This paper explores how the psychotic experience of the penetration of destructive objects and a loss of boundaries appears in the delusions experienced by a woman who reported early sexual trauma. Through a close analysis of these psychotic experiences, this research seeks to illustrate how a psychotic personality organization, coupled with repeated early attacks on the integrity and boundaries of the self, can create a pervasive sense of being relentlessly pursued and penetrated by destructive objects. These delusions may serve multiple functions, as will be discussed. It is suggested that working through these experiences within the therapeutic relationship involves a gradual process of separating the inner from the outer, the destructive from the benevolent, so that a less fragmented, more integrated sense of self can emerge.