(Neuro) Psychoanalytic Regression and Integration

Abstract

Renewal begins with a loss of a rigid self and a regression to a more primal state, before the dominance of the imaginary ego, where experience is pure and possibilities are endless. However, this regression can also bring about a sense of fragmentation and a frightening loss of identity. Poetry operates not only through language, but also through the more primal registers of image and affect. Poetry provides an invaluable tool for pressing into unconscious states specifically because of its minute attention to internal and external details and its condensed mode of expression. Experiencing poetry can bring about a kind of regression, getting one in touch with these primal elements of self while allowing one to reorder them. Renewal is achieved when we can locate and then integrate primary, often unconscious, elements of our experience and identity with linguistic expression and consciousness. Integration and increased self-awareness are major goals of psychoanalysis and poetry therapy.¹ Poetry provides a valuable aid in integrating experience and identity by focusing close attention on all of the moments and details of experience and then putting them in linguistic form. By tapping into our unconscious, poetry helps lead us toward a deeper and more honest understanding of our selves.