PROLOGUE

Bound together by our interest and immersion in contemporary Self Psychology, the three editors of this issue of Psychoanalytic Inquiry come from a variety of disciplines: Carol M. Press from the world of contemporary dance; Rosalind Chaplin Kindler from theater, drama, and child therapy; and Alan Kindler from psychoanalysis and psychiatry. We have each, over the years, maintained an enduring and evolving interest in the confluence and mutual influence of the two worlds of psychoanalysis and the expressive arts.

We bring together here a group of writers, thinkers, clinicians, and expressive artists with training, expertise, and experience in the areas of dance, literature, music, poetry, theater, the visual arts, and psychoanalysis. Their work embraces both psychoanalytic and creative expression, and guides us to observe the rich and highly textured fabric that comes from weaving together the domains of psychoanalysis and creativity. Such an interdisciplinary perspective on psychoanalytic engagement enhances our understanding of cross-modal models in therapy. We hope that this inclusive view of the expressive arts and psychoanalysis will further our understanding of what produces change in the analytic encounter while broadening our appreciation of the influences of aesthetic values and creativity.

Dancer Carol M. Press and therapist George Hagman capture the essential theme of this issue, bringing together the fields of art and creativity with that of clinical practice. The coauthors use contemporary developmental and psychoanalytic theory to formulate the profound impact of the aesthetic dimension and empathy upon the clinical arena. Their article emphasizes that “as part of that cross-modal aesthetic exchange, psychoanalysis, like all of life, is a dance, capturing the aesthetic and empathic foundation of our shared humanity.”

Alan Kindler differentiates from spontaneity—a dimension of the “subjective experience of the individual,” improvisation—the “rules of engage