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In 1981 I began to pay special attention to borderline patients. At the time I was interested in my analytic attitude when working with such patients, which, I discovered, was absolutely different from the one I had toward other patients. This led me to investigate borderline patients with greater care. The first step was to gather a bibliography on borderline cases. I needed further information because I realized they required a different technique from that used with other patients.
I will make special reference to the central or essential borderline and to the neurotic borderline (according to Grinker's old classification), based on cases I treated. I will focus on one case in detail (Beatriz).
Borderline patients consult for specific reasons and their story is always marked by great despair and anxiety.
Beatriz came to see me because she did not know whether to return to the country for good, after having lived abroad for an extended period. The return of democracy in Argentina constituted an external incentive. She had left the country with feelings of hopelessness and hostility, and now these feelings returned. We could see