CONTEMPORARY FAMILY MODELS AND SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE: BETWEEN NEW FAMILY ARRANGEMENTS AND THE PERSISTENCE OF STRUCTURAL LACK

Abstract

This article examines, from Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalysis, the extent to which subject constitution can be understood beyond specific family models, questioning interpretations that establish causal relationships between family configurations and psychological suffering. The study consists of a narrative literature review developed from questions arising in the authors' clinical practice and is primarily grounded in the works of Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan, as well as in classical authors who have discussed the historical and social transformations of the family. The findings indicate that the association between particular family arrangements and subject constitution often stems from an imaginary reading of psychoanalytic theory, which conflates symbolic functions with the concrete figures that compose family organization. The analysis shows that Lacan's structural reinterpretation shifts the understanding of subjectivation from family configurations to the symbolic operations involved in language, lack, and castration, demonstrating that caregivers may facilitate or hinder processes of symbolization without determining the constitution of the subject. The discussion further suggests that Judith Butler's critique of traditional psychoanalytic terminology can be articulated with the Lacanian perspective by highlighting the need to distinguish symbolic functions from the social images and ideals historically associated with the nuclear family. It is concluded that separating normative ideals from symbolic functions provides important theoretical and clinical contributions to a psychoanalytic practice committed to the singularity of the subject and capable of embracing the plurality of contemporary family configurations.