ABSTRACT
In this chapter I will attempt to provide an explanation of how the emotional/ego development of the individual affects his use of symbolic expression. This will be described within a psychoanalytic framework, using the Kleinian approach to psychoanalysis, which in itself, places great emphasis on the emotional attitude adopted by the infant towards his/her environment during the different stages of ego development. I will also illustrate how such infantile attitudes still prevail in the adult, and how they are essential to life's fundamental meaning. I will also show how such attitudes can become cripplingly dominant in the emotionally disturbed individual. This fluctuation will be exemplified by the symbolic relationship which the artist has towards his work, and which both corresponds and is mirrored by the way he relates to his environment. In addition I include some examples of visual expression done within a therapeutic setting which help to illustrate the relationship which the patient/artist has with his work.
