In writing and lecturing over the past two decades on the relationship between psychoanalysis and art, Danielle Knafo has demonstrated the many ways in which these two disciplines inform and illuminate each other. This book continues that discussion, emphasising how the creative process in psychoanalysis and art utilises the unconscious in a quest for transformation and healing.
Key Features
- Part one presents case studies showcasing the use of free association, transference, dream work, regression, altered states of consciousness, trauma, and solitude as creative tools.
- Knafo uses the metaphor of dance to describe therapeutic action, highlighting the dynamic interaction between therapist and patient.
- Part two offers in-depth studies of various artists and their methods for self-expression and self-creation.
- The book expands the theoretical dimension of psychoanalysis while providing clinicians with methods to enhance creativity in their work with patients.
Additional Information
The analytic couple is both artist and medium, and the dance they do together is a dynamic representation of the boundless creativity of the unconscious mind. Knafo shows how artists, though mostly creating in solitude, are frequently engaged in significant relational processes that attempt rapprochement with internalised objects and repair of psychic injury.
