Virginie Martin-Lavaud

Virginie Martin-Lavaud serves as a Lecturer in Psychopathology at the Catholic University of the West's Faculty of Human and Social Sciences in Angers, France, while practicing as a Clinical Psychologist in National Education. Holding a Doctorate in Psychopathology from Paris XIII University (2005), she has instructed Master's-level psychopathology courses since 2006 and maintains active research through UCO's EA 4050 team and CERIPSA laboratory.

• Doctorate in Psychopathology, Paris XIII University (2005)
• DEA in Psychoanalysis, Paris XIII University (1993)
• DESS in Psychopathology, IPSA-UCO, Angers (1992)

Her research investigates child psychopathology through five interconnected domains: differential diagnosis of autism and psychosis; aesthetic manifestations of anxiety; perversion-behavioral disorder linkages; psychic dynamics in learning disorders; and neurotic phobic defenses. She uniquely employs the 'monster' motif as a symbolic framework for understanding child psychic life, while recently examining technology's disruptive role in clinical sexual relations.

Analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals enduring focus on the 'monster' concept (2002-2019) as a lens for child reality-access mechanisms, with a notable pivot toward digital-age clinical challenges after 2016. Her work consistently bridges psychoanalytic theory with aesthetic processes, emphasizing how bodily deformation in art (e.g., Francis Bacon) reflects creative psychic movements.

As an active researcher within UCO's EA 4050 team (Research in Psychopathology, New Symptoms and Social Bonds) and CERIPSA laboratory, she contributes to the Psychoanalytic Clinical Research Component focusing on psychic and aesthetic processes. Her institutional role includes developing clinical frameworks for understanding behavioral disorders through psychodynamic perspectives.