Dissertation - World Federation of Music Therapy

yelled at him! (…)
He did the right thing, I can see that. He
helped me, but not in the way I expected.
The sunset (not identified) Then there was a sunset – this pink-orange
stuff. It feels so poor to talk about it. I still
have that image in me
Table 7.4 includes a variety of images identified as important by INLA either in the
interview or in the session postludes. Many other interesting and important images
can be found in the session notes, e.g. the cornfield (#1), the cliffs and the snail (#2),
the flamingo and the snake (#4), the treadmill and the pumping heart (#8), the
cherubim (#9) and the many leaves floating and falling in several sessions. The image
of the elephant (#6) is included in the analysis of section 8.3.2.
Level 2
In this material I have identified the following metaphors of the self:
Session #1: The maple tree and the cornfield. The maple tree was a metaphor of the
life cycle, accentuated by INLAs more or less conscious need of ‘hibernation’:
protecting herself against the storms of autumn and winter in order to recuperate. The
yellow cornfield was a complementary image of life unfolding in spring and summer.
#2: The tiny puffing car and the orange snail. In the interview INLA interpreted the
car as a good way of handling conflicts, bringing them to an end in a simple way:
”The point is that I drive through it. The cloud is small and limited, and I see myself
coming out on the other side.” The orange snail was a related metaphor of an
accepting, non-fighting attitude.
#3: The pupa. This metaphor reflected INLAs growing awareness of her need to take
care of and protect herself, creating a safe place where good influences and
atmospheres could grow. The pupa is related to the embryo and ’hibernation’.
#4: The eagle and the embryo. The eagle was the most important self metaphor of
them all. INLA described her initial resistance towards this bird of prey and the
connotations of solitude and cruelty it gave her. Gradually she accepted the other
sides of the metaphor – and herself: the power, the capacity for overview, and the
independence. The air element was a new dimension opening through the metaphor of
the eagle. INLA interpreted the embryo as a complementary metaphor: ”It represents
a quality of being, the opposite of what the eagle was in the beginning, but what it
became in the end: the eagle can be like a child, surrender itself completely and be
212