発達障がいを抱える人たちの心理療法に表れるイメージについて

Abstract

This paper intends to obtain deeper insight into the inner world of patients with developmental disorders, the messages they send to therapists, and ideal psychotherapy. As a step toward this objective, images induced during psychotherapy were used. In the case of a patient described here, images of heroes and enemies, such as a snake, gradually changed as both parties fought each other over a given period. In Western countries, it is conventionally assumed that "fighting off a dragon (snake)" by a hero is common in psychotherapy; on the other hand, the patient's and therapist's images suggest that a newly established relationship with the snake is important to associate the patient with his own corporeality and the outer natural environment. This unavoidably leads to involvement in conflicts and contradictions. The patient needs to be open with the snake to reflect his inner collective unconscious, instead of killing to obtain creative power. However, a mistake made in introduction of the snake might have adverse effects on the patient, who may view it as a threat, and on the therapist as the patient's opponent. Thus the findings of this study may be of interest to therapists who treat patients with developmental disorders.