An Unexpected Result of the Analysis of a Talented Musician

The Meanings and Functions of Tunes That Come into One’s Head

“…Many observers, psychoanalytic and otherwise (Bernstein 1975;A. Freud 1963;Greenson 1954;Rose 2004;Storr 1992), have commented upon music as a companion, as a comfort in the face of loss, and as filling a longing or a void (Oremland 1975), and have suggested a connection between mother-infant communication through the prosody of speech (Rose 2004, p. 116)-as well as actual singing-as a possible source of mature musical enjoyment. Direct clinical observations are more sparse.…”

“…1 Ferenczi (1955) first used the phrase tunes that come into one's head in an article written around 1909. Oremland (1975), in speaking of a patient, refers to "tunes in Tom's head" (p. 403), and Nass (1993) describes this phenomenon as occurring in the consciousness of many composers. One composer reported that "he had music in his head all of the time" (p. 28).…”

“…Psychoanalytic writers have explored the topics mentioned above with various methodologies, including psychobiography (Feder 1982), interviews with composers (Nass 1993), application of analytic metapsychology (Kohut 1957), and observation of oral communication in mother-child dyads (Storr 1992, p. 9). More direct psychoanalytic data in the form of associations and narratives has been obtained from patients (Bornstein 1977;Boyer 1992;Greenson 1954;Oremland 1975) and from self-examination (Reik 1953;Sterba 1946). In The Haunting Melody, Reik provides numerous examples of uncovering hidden meanings by analyzing the associations to melodies that occurred spontaneously in his mind and in the minds of his patients.…”

On Sounds, Children, Identity and A‘quite Unmusical’man

“…Finally those objects which Winnicott (1953) calls transitional, situated as they are at the interface between phantasy and reality, have here an important role. There is evidence (McDonald 1970;Oremland 1975) that mentally or vocally repeated familiar tunes have for most young children a considerable part to play as transitional musical experiences, belonging both to the child's own self and to his external world, and facilitating a satisfactory relationship between the two. Again, the absence of such experiences, as may be the case with autistic children, could be a symptom of current or future psychological impairment.…”

A Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Approach to the Emotional Problems of Exceptionally and Profoundly Gifted Adolescents and Adults: A Psychiatrist's Experience

“…In this report, I will describe and discuss the issues and the therapeutic tasks that arose in each stage of their psychotherapy. My hope is to add to clinical observations made in individual psychotherapy case reports (Colarusso, 1980;Dahlberg, 1992;Kelly, 1970;Oremland, 1975); to add to the general observations made by those who have counseled (Colangelo & Assouline, 2000;Kerr, 2007;Mendaglio & Peterson, 2007;Rocamora, 1992;Silverman, 2000) and treated gifted adolescents and adults with psychotherapy ( Jacobsen, 1999;Lovecky, 1990); to add clinical guidelines for the evaluation and treatment of interpersonal and intrapsychic conflicts and anxieties that may be specific to exceptional and profoundly gifted individuals; and to add to our understanding of the psychology of exceptionally and profoundly gifted individuals.…”