The Art of Living in Otto Rank's Will Therapy

Creativity and Philosophy, 2018

Can negative psychological experiences be good for a person? If so, what could possibly be good about them? And when and under what circumstances might they be good? In what follows, my aim is to begin a philosophical exploration of these issues by focusing on a particular case-the relationship between negative affective experience and artistic creativity. There is a strong, empirically documented link between artistic creativity and psychiatric mood disorders (

Examining the life stories of some productive artists; it is seen that they struggle with mental illnesses, intensely deal with the thought of death and they even commit suicide. On the other hand, we believe that art has a curative power. Art therapy is known by physicians, therapists and trainers. Art is also used in various ways for treatment. If the process of creation pulls an artist into a mental illness and thoughts about death, then how does it possibly cure? This text tries to explain the dilemma in question.

Psychodynamic Practice, 2018

The book Art, Creativity, and Psychoanalysis, presents a range of firsthand experiences of 12 practicing practitioners of psychoanalytic psychotherapy and psychoanalysis who also are actively engaged as creative artists. They are painters, photographers, creative writers, and musical and vocal performers. George Hagman, the editor, selected therapists of diverse theoretical backgrounds with "busy and prosperous psychoanalytic and analytic psychotherapy practices for at least ten years… most… have been formally trained in the arts and they maintain studios and exhibit their work in galleries or other pubic venues" (p. xiv). Hagman presents samples of the authors' work, including selections of paintings and photographs, and excerpts of poetry and other writings. Accompanying links provide access to the performing artists' websites and Internet musical shopping sites. As an editor, Hagman initially raised questions for the writers to address, but found that they preferred telling their stories in their own ways, writing essays "that reflected their own experiences, thoughts and values." He was "grateful" for this modification, as the essays turned out to be "a rich assortment, sometimes quirky, always honest and thoughtful, invariably unpredictable" (p. xvi). As a reader, I benefited from meeting these 12 insightful individuals, with rich and fascinating lives to narrate. They provided insights into psychoanalysis, the arts they represented, and the impact this integration had on them, both personally and professionally. The authors provide nuggets from their artistic experience, enriching my appreciation of their art. Anna Carusi discusses her artistic style, which is evolving over the years, and her excitement when she realized the possibilities opened up by adding the dimension of action to her paintings. Her description of her painting of the running of the bulls of Pamplona is accompanied by her painting, illustrating the powerful movements of the whole scene (p. 129). Linda Cummings, a photographer, describes taking photographs while "paddling my kayak in a tidal river… creating photographic images of my impact on its surface… watching the changing patterns as paddle disturbs the water… images emerge… reflections of light and shadow, color and form" (p. 32). She explains that her subject "is not water per se, but impermanence, change, and the substance of light" (p. 32). In practicing psychotherapy, her approach can be "reassuring and at times disturbing. My responsibility is to make waves, to stir things up in clinically useful… ways" (p. 42). Donna Bassin, a photographer, has been producing experimental work with the use of dolls, photographed with a pinhole camera in a dollhouse; she discusses the various dramatic effects she produced. She comments that both the analyst and photographer must come prepared to capture an image that has never been created before. Both must have "a mindful emptiness or lack of intention… to be surprised by the new" (p. 170). She discusses at length her difficult experience of being present at Ground Zero in the aftermath of 9/11, trying to help grieving families search for and mourn the victims, but I did not grasp the relationship of this narrative to the art.

2006

Abstract: Four important themes in self psychology as developed by Heinz Kohut are remarkably congruent with current theoretical constructs in the field of evolutionary (Darwinian) psychology: (1) the concept of narcissism; (2) the claim for the innate human capacity for empathy; (3) the recognition of the importance of group cohesion and (4) the belief that individual psychological distress is produced by a changed environment rather than a dysfunctional self. By recasting Kohut's themes in a Darwinian framework and interpreting them with personal views of the phylogenetic origin and nature of the arts As one who writes about the arts from the Darwinian framework of evolutionary psychology, I have been intrigued to discover interesting and possibly fruitful correspondences between my ideas and selfobject theory as articulated by Heinz Kohut and others who, like him, have antecedents in the British psychological tradition called object relations. In Art and Intimacy (Dissanayak...

This expanded and edited version of my 2019 essay explores a meme that has slipped quietly into our daily discourse and guides the production of so much contemporary art and literature and, I would add, the direction our entire culture is taking. A mystery of incarnation lies “within” this largely unexamined meme and the cultural forms it produces through the artist soul. In Part 1, I explore this mystery in terms of modern cultural productions while in Part 2, I discuss a dream I had in the early nineties and its effects on the unfoldment of my life as a work of art.

Here are a few thoughts on Otto Rank's Art and Artist. The first chapter, on Creative Urge and Personality Development, is the kicker to the book's title. Two themes are developed on the work of art historians Alois Reigl and Wilhelm Worrington who helped Rank with ideas about a will-to-form and the forming of a will. Artists in all eras are inspired individuals in a social context with an interest to eternalize their personality, and their will develops in the act of imprinting this interest on concrete materials which drives the early movement from abstraction to humanization. The basic thesis is that development in the meaning of art forms parallels development in soul belief.

International Journal of Psychological Studies, 2012

Most creativity theorists consider artists as "agents of control", capable of overcoming and controlling psychological distress. However, studies have yet to map the "healing" tendency for "everyday creative people" in detailing the process' effects on perception and change. This study was aimed to examine this process via a phenomenological and Perceptual Control Theory perspective (PCT: see Powers, W. T. (1973). Behaviour: The control of perception. Chicago: Aldine). We recruited and interviewed eleven participants who had engaged in art-making and experienced recovery from psychological distress. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to identify themes between participant responses, generated from self-created semi-structured interview schedules following Smith and Osborn's technique (IPA: see Smith, J. A., & Osborn, M. (2008). Interpretative phenomenological analysis. In J. A. Smith (Ed.), Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods, 2 nd edition, (53-80). London: Sage). Data analysis identified six superordinate themes: 1) "the process of creating as a goal-oriented focus", 2) "internalising process and product", 3) "awareness shift and self-focus", 4) "emotion regulation", 5) "goal change, bonding, and conflict resolution", and 6) "feelings and perceptions within the art-making process". Disconfirming Case Analysis and participant feedback also indicated a seventh theme: 7) "the 'superficial' creative process". The results were interpreted to indicate that art-making involves the purposeful creation of perceptual experience to fulfil higher-order goals and values. The creative process is also a learning process which instigates and promotes positive affect, enhances skills, and facilitates change in higher-order goals. We consider these interpretations in the light of the components of PCT.

The Wiley World Handbook of Existential Therapy, 2019

“It’s a wonder to me with all our complexities that anyone ever achieves happiness,” she said. “People like us don’t,” Rank replied, “We achieve it for a moment, and then we change and change again.” -- Otto Rank

The Humanistic Psychologist, 2001

Abstract: Otto Rank's work has had an indirect influence on much of existential-humanistic psychology, yet his contribution has been unevenly acknowledged. Seeing Rank as a developing artist helps to put his creative contributions to psychoanalysis, post-psychoanalytic critique, and existential-humanistic psychotherapy, in perspective. After his separation from Freud, Rank's innovative thought blossomed; his later works have deep and lingering humanistic import. A look at convergences and divergences between Freud and Rank shows that Rank's art (of living, of theorizing, and of practicing therapy) is an uncannily familiar and inspiring model of humanistic practice in the world. The continuing relevance of Rank's ideas about art and artists is explored, and Rank is re-introduced to humanistic psychologists who may recognize aspects of his work as consonant with their own.

Art, Creativity, and Psychoanalysis: Perspectives from Analyst-Artists collects personal reflections by therapists who are also professional artists. It explores the relationship between art and analysis through accounts by practitioners who identify themselves as dual-profession artists and analysts. The book illustrates the numerous areas where analysis and art share common characteristics using first-hand, in-depth accounts. These vivid reports from the frontier of art and psychoanalysis shed light on the day-today struggle to succeed at both of these demanding professions. From the beginning of psychoanalysis, many have made comparisons between analysis and art. Recently there has been increasing interest in the relationship between artistic and psychotherapeutic practices. Most importantly, both professions are viewed as highly creative, with spontaneity, improvisation, and aesthetic experience seeming to be common to each. However, differences have also been recognized, especially regarding the differing goals of each profession: art leading to the creation of an artwork, and psychoanalysis resulting in the increased welfare and happiness of the patient. These issues are addressed head-on in Art, Creativity, and Psychoanalysis: Perspectives from Analyst-Artists. The chapters consist of personal essays by analyst-artists who are currently working in both professions; each has been trained in and is currently practicing psychoanalysis or psychoanalytic psychotherapy. The goal of the book is to provide the reader with a new understanding of psychoanalytic and psychotherapeutic processes from the perspective of art and artistic creativity. Drawing on artistic material from painting, poetry, photography, music, and literature, the book casts light on what the creative processes in art can add to the psychoanalytic endeavor, and vice versa.