Abstract

This research is the observation of autistic barriers presented in art-therapy with two patients who suffer from diverse somatization problems. This is a case study, in which psychoanalytical epistemology is theoretically supported by several modern theories of the primitive development of self and object relations, notably 'autistic barriers' by Frances Tustin (1990) and 'autistic-contiguous position' by Thomas Ogden (1989). In this research, it is proposed that fibromyalgia and self mutilation, in the cases studied, are primitive autistic defense mechanisms, like the ones described by Tustin. Ogden's theory, on the other hand, permits one to theoretically position the persistence of these autistic defense phenomena in people suffering from diverse somatization problems. Ogden introduces, within the post-kleinian theory, a first position, one of object relations, named "the autistic-contiguous" position as well as a conceptual dialectic of the functioning psyche. The autistic-contiguous position is conceived as the primitive and sensory background of the paranoid-schizoid position. This research will also attempt to describe and distinguish autistic-contiguous (Ogden) and paranoid-schizoid (Klein) positions. Two clinical cases will be presented, offering signs of the presence of autistic defensive mechanisms throughout the study. The conclusions of this study will permit art-therapy to be seen as a therapy of choice, capable of transforming asymbolic experiences to symbolic ones.