Phantasy Therapy is an interdisciplinary depth-psychologically oriented group therapy form with focus on the treatment of psychoses in acute and remission phases. A different theme is presented to the patients every week on two consecutive days (90 min per session), coherently, via various sensory channels. On the first day, the theme is concretely and operationally introduced by means of an object, transformed into movement in the broadest sense of the word, and experienced directly with the body. The first session ends with a story, usually a fairy tale or parable, so that the body experiences can be further realized symbolically at the cognitive-emotional level. The second session treats the same theme via repetition of the chosen story with the deeper transformation of symbols into color and form. The first day is jointly led by a psychotherapist and a movement/ dance therapist, the second day by a psychotherapist and an art therapist. Our approach understands therapy as a somatesthetic experience- and synesthetic expression-oriented encounter with the patient via the therapist’s empathic imaginative identification with the patient by means of a progressively orchestrated, positivizing, cognitive-emotional, theme-centered rapport. In this connection six therapeutic elements are of importance: theme, object, movement, fairy tale, artwork, symbol. Phantasy Therapy offers the patient creative freedom in a humorous and playful way within a certain therapeutic security (Amae principle) and contradicts several classical prejudices concerning the treatment of psychotic patients.

Se realizó un estudio sobre una mu e s t ra de 210 mu j e res en su primer ingreso va l o rando la frecuencia de la Psicosis Cicl o i d e, psicosis funcionales no afe c t ivas y evaluando además la validez del diagnóstico. Se rev i s a ron las historias clínicas y se comp a ra ron de fo rma re t ro s p e c t iva a las pacientes diagnosticadas de Psicosis Cicloide fre n t e a otras psicosis funcionales. A d e m á s , un subgrupo fo rmado por el 20% de las pacientes de ambos grupos fue evaluado 11 años después. En total 51 (24%) de las pacientes c u m p l i e ron con el cri t e rio diagnóstico de Psicosis Cicl o i d e, o b s e rvándose va rias dife re ncias signifi c at ivas entre éstas y las pacientes con otro tipo de psicosis funcionales en el momento de su primer ingre s o , sin embargo la mayoría de ellas presentó cri t e rios diagnósticos de Psicosis Cicl o i d e. No se encontra ron dife rencias signifi c at ivas en el s eguimiento. No tuvimos éxito en cuanto al mantenimiento del diagnóstico y sobre todo en lo re fe rente a la validez del pronóstico de las Psicosis Cicloides. De todos modos d eben tenerse en cuenta estos re s u l t a d o s , p e ro con el cuidado debido dadas las limitaciones de este estudio.