Entry into imaginary space: Transit metaphors in adult psychotherapy.
Item
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Title
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Entry into imaginary space: Transit metaphors in adult psychotherapy.
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Identifier
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AAI3169913
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identifier
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3169913
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Creator
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Grandy, Monica A.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Steve Tuber
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Date
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2005
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Clinical
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Abstract
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This project is a theoretical exploration of the role of metaphor in adult psychotherapy in repairing developmental arrests. The methodology used is in the spirit of 17th century philosopher Vico, who argued that we can learn about the human mind through exploring cultural products. Toward that end, I use three metaphors from three children's stories to illustrate the way by which the protagonists move from real to imaginary. I use these four imaginal worlds as analogues to transit into imaginary space; the three from children's literature and one clinical case. Through Alice in Wonderland, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and The Phantom Tollbooth, as well as the clinical material of a long-term psychotherapy, I hope to elaborate different qualities of the state change from real to imaginary. I argue that these different qualities of imaginary space, or potential space as termed by D. W. Winnicott, correspond to varying affect-regulatory patterns, and that the transit metaphors that emerge in treatment can be used to access affect-regulatory information in the service of repair of developmental ruptures.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
