Music as a Tool to Mentalization: A Discussion of F. Göver Kazancio?lu's "An Adolescent Journey: Filling the Void With Sound"

Abstract

Music as a functional tool in Göver Kazancio?lu's case study moves her into the center of the adolescent Ayda's subjectivity. The messages communicated by the songs are discovered through a process of first holding and containing and then interpreting by the therapist. Through the process of mutual understanding, Ayda becomes the person who both brought the songs into the therapy room and interpreted them in depth. In this way the music shared in the room in a mutually regulatory way helps Ayda to gain self regulation and mentalized psychic activity. © 2012 Copyright The International Association for Psychoanalytic Self Psychology.