The Multimodal Enrichment of the Psychoanalytic Space: A Proposal for Unsaturated Music
- Publication Type:
- Thesis
- Issue Date:
- 2022
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The aim of this thesis is to critically analyse the concept of the psychoanalytic space as both a metaphorical therapy space and a physical place, and then to offer a case for the multimodal extension of that space in accordance with the goal to be a place to feel safe and supported – to receive, to listen and to think.
Twentieth-century psychoanalysis operated within a formal framework which excluded ‘extraneous’ modalities such as music. I argue that music, as a facilitator of reverie, could enrich the psychoanalytic experience and improve therapeutic benefit.
My re-conceptualisation of the psychoanalytic frame, utilising methodologies of semiotics and multimodality, has resulted in this theoretical revision which can incorporate a specific type of music.
Unsaturated music (Uµ) is introduced as this new formulation, inspired by Satie’s furniture music and the ambient styles of Eno & Budd. I suggest that, without compromising established theoretical frameworks, the psychoanalytic space can be enriched through Uµ’s facilitation of reverie and psychoanalytic ‘free association’.
Appropriate music was curated from various ambient playlists on Spotify resulting in the shortlisting of 350 pieces, each of less than five minutes’ duration. These pieces were selected as suitable to be heard in the waiting room, as patients made their way to and from their sessions. Twenty original pieces were subsequently composed by me as examples of Uµ and analysed for their semiotic properties.
To enhance the effectiveness of the psychoanalytic space for music and reverie – drawing on theories of multimodality (with sound, texture and colour its major design features) – a full renovation of the therapy and waiting room spaces was implemented.
Patients’ volunteered responses are discussed at the conclusion of this thesis and hybrid psychoanalytic approaches for the post-Covid-19 era are proposed. Further research could be undertaken into methods for applying multimodal influences to psychoanalytic, medical, aged-care and other public spaces.
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