From Disconnection to the Seesaw to the Stage

Abstract

In this article, I narrate how I used creativity in order to deal with two challenging phases in my analytic work with Sarah. In the first phase of the treatment, I used the image of the seesaw as a way to capture the procedural, nonverbal aspects of our constant stalemates, thus shifting our pattern of interaction and providing the necessary stability to further the treatment. In the second phase, I enlisted Sarah's skills as actor and director in order to enhance and expand her capacity for self-exploration, creativity, and playfulness, thus helping her extricate herself from her need to defer to my insights and observations. In this way, Sarah and I transformed the analysis into a theatrical stage where, as Helen and Nancy, we could engage as collaborators, and where she could become an agent in her own treatment, feel more competent, and assert her individuality.

Acknowledgments

I would like to express my deep appreciation to Dr. Frank Lachmann for his valuable feedback while writing this article and to Dr. Doris Silverman for her patience during the many re-readings of it. And a special thank you to Sarah for giving me permission to tell our story.

Notes

Susana I. Martinez M.Phil., L.P., is a psychoanalyst in private practice in New York City. She is a member of the National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis and of the Institute for the Psychoanalytic Study of Subjectivity. She has presented papers on the connections between ancient philosophy and psychoanalysis. Her work has included pro bono psychotherapy with young children and their mothers in the South Bronx, New York.