Experimental study of the creative process by means of hypnoanalytic associations to a painting done in occupational therapy: The magic ring of walter positive

Abstract

A series of drawings executed in free association to an uninteresting painting done in occupational therapy is presented. These drawings were secured through the technique of mirror gazing in hypnotic trance, and they provided an unexpectedly rich source of the life history, the traumatic experiences, and also the hopes and expectations of recovery in a patient who was with all other techniques, both conscious and hypnotic, most unproductive. The drawings also demonstrate the dynamic development of the life history and the integrative process by which the patient expects to make and actually has made his recovery.