The Importance of Beauty in the Psychoanalytic Experience*

“If ever any beauty I did see Which I desir'd and got, twas but a dreame of thee”

In this paper I set out to describe how a very young boy, two years and one month when he commenced therapy, whom I shall call Georgie, who, on beginning therapy seemed more animal than human, discovered beauty, and having done so, an appetite for life which he had just about decided was not worth the living. In the last section of the paper I set out to discuss the idea that beauty and its linked attributes goodness, hope and truth, form the bedrock for mental health in all of us.

But to begin at the beginning: I would like to start by giving some background history.

Georgie was born to a white mother, Ann, following a brief relationship with an Afro-Caribbean man. Georgie has never known his father and it is unlikely that his father knows of his existence.

Ann is said to have started having difficulties when she was thirteen: she became quiet and withdrawn and her scholastic performance suffered. She was put on probation when sixteen years old for shoplifting and spent some time in a hostel. She left home to take up a job in London and a number of casual jobs followed. In the subsequent years there was little contact between Ann and her family.

Ann became pregnant and a daughter was born, also the result of a brief relationship with an Afro-Caribbean man. This daughter died at eight weeks, a cot death, and Ann blamed nursing staff. At this time Ann's mental illness became apparent: she was paranoid and hallucinating.

When Ann became pregnant again, this time with Georgie, she sought no ante-natal care and delivered the baby herself at home. When a few days old, Georgie was admitted to hospital with breathing difficulties, and as a result of her disturbed behaviour Ann was admitted to hospital under Section 2 of the Mental Health Act. Ann appealed against the Section and was regraded as an informal patient. Whilst it was recommended that she