On the other side of Oz: psychoanalytic aspects of fairy tales

Resurrecting the buried self: fairy tales and the analytic encounter

The author uses the lens of myth and fairy tales to examine the narratives generated by the analytic experience. Fairy tales are understood as representing fundamental developmental conflicts, accounting for their enduring power over time. The analytic encounter is seen as an analogue of the fairy tale in which the hidden self, damaged by loss and abandonment, reemerges only through the redemptive power of [an] other's love. Clinical material is presented in which hidden parts of the patient's self are projected into the analyst for safekeeping; these hidden parts resonate with the analyst's own lost, unrealized potential and form an intersubjective experience which the author believes is transformative. The patient's dormant powers emerge in a newly experienced atmosphere of recognition, and in this way, the analytic encounter resembles the fairy tale in providing an identificatory bond and a protective space for the patient's hidden vitality.

The magic of fairy tales: psychodynamic and developmental perspectives

The telling of fairy tales is one way to elicit a child's inner thoughts and feelings, expose conflicts and frustrations, reduce anxiety, and gain mastery over developmental tasks. This paper will review the meaning, usefulness, and importance of fairy tales by discussing three selections from the psychodynamic and developmental perspectives.