Resolving issues of separation through art

Journal/Book: Arts in Psychotherapy. 1984; 11: 29-35.

Abstract: Presents the cases of a mental patient (a 28-yr-old male suffering from schizophrenia in an acute psychotic stage), an artist (a female with mixed feelings toward an extramarital attraction), and an art therapist (the author, who sought to relieve feelings brought about by her mother's death after a long illness), each of whom attempted to resolve problems of separation through creative work. In each case, the created object played a pivotal role, activating and transforming the feelings surrounding the original loss into a form that became the experiential component of the process of separation and/or individuation. The intensity of the individual's relationship to the creative work was a barometer of his/her therapeutic progress. Ease in coping with the loss was measured by the Ss' ease in separating from the work of art itself. As this separation process developed, the creative process helped the Ss cope with reality, soothe painful feelings, and enabled the Ss to function by maintaining ego integrity and offering a path to the resolution of difficult issues. (16 ref)

Note: art therapy; problems of separation individuation; 28 yr old schizophrenic & female artist & art therapist

Keyword(s): Art therapy; separation individuation; schizophrenia ; adulthood

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