Some Aspects of Movement and Art Therapy as Related to the Analytic Situation

The growing prevalence of pregenital pathology seen in analytic therapy brings a need for a greater synthesis of verbal and nonverbal aspects of treatment. In this paper we are attempting to use our experiences as movement and art therapists and as analytic candidates to express some of our preliminary ideas on this issue. We feel that movement and art therapy are not necessarily antithetical to and might in fact be consonant with psychoanalytic treatment. We will show how these modalities can be used within an analytical framework and examine their relationship to such concepts as abreaction and catharsis, problems of acting out in the transference, working through, and the role of affects in treatment. We will also discuss the relationship of the use of art and movement to primary- and secondary-process thinking.

When working with severely narcissistic, borderline, or psychotic patients, the use of the creative modality often touches regions within these patients that are normally inaccessible to a verbal interpretation or other secondary-process communication. Art or movement may be used with the well-functioning neurotic patient as well.

Art or movement work may be used primarily as an alternate route to the unconscious, much as a drearrt or fantasy may be used to trigger a wealth of associations, affects, and memories. Movement behavior may be used reflectively for feedback. Here the movement or art work per se is not being used for the therapy. The work of therapy is essentially verbal; the art or movement being used only as a cue. On the other hand, art and movement may be used as a unique