Abstract
Four aspects of the dance therapist’s experience with schizophrenic patients are discussed: (1) the therapist’s tendency to develop omnipotent strivings; (2) the intensity of the therapist’s emotional involvement with patients; (3) the therapist’s struggle to exercise self-restraint when confronting patients’ inactivity; and (4) the effect on the therapist of the schizophrenics’ sensitivity to the therapist’s unconscious processes. The therapist’s omnipotent fantasies often serve as a defense against the hopelessness of the treatment situation. Another aspect of treating schizophrenics is the intense emotional involvement they demand of the therapist. The schizophrenics’ sensitivity to the therapist’s unconscious processes is a further source of difficulty in working with schizophrenic patients. The dance therapist’s personal investment in movement and possible conflicts about his or her role in the treatment setting provide the patient with ammunition for attacks on the dance therapist. Continued study of counter-transference issues which are both common to all therapies and unique to dance therapy will hopefully contribute to our understanding of the therapeutic process in various modalities.
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Sandel, S.L. Countertransference stress in the treatment of schizophrenic patients. Am J Dance Ther 3, 20–32 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02579616
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02579616