The place of skin and body modifications in the constitution of Ego

In object relation theory and particularly in Esther Bick’s
theory, skin has a mayor function in the process of the
Self constitution; with Bick’s concept of skin as a container,
the role of this body organ as a mediator in the integration
of parts of personality on infants is emphasized.
For the development of this role, the introjection of the
mother containing function is necessary, because if not
introjected, the infant must develop substitutive methods
for containing himself. In Bick’s theory these methods
would take the form of second skins. This article analyses
the relation between the body modification and its
possible relation with second skin forms in adulthood.