Embroidery and Psychoanalysis: a case study on art as a clinical device

Abstract

The relationship between art and psychoanalysis establishes a fundamental theoretical, practical, and epistemological dimension. In this sense, we propose, in this study, a critical reflection on the clinical possibilities of freehand embroidery as a mediating object in psychoanalytic listening. To ground this articulation, we adopt the concept of the case mark as a methodological orientation and organize the theoretical-clinical path into three subtopics. Initially, we discuss the profound relations between art, sublimation, and the use of mediating objects in psychoanalytic practice, based on a dialogue with classical concepts and current studies. Next, we present experiences and interventions that utilize embroidery in different contexts. Finally, we analyze a case in which embroidery was employed as a clinical device in an analytical process. Lastly, we consider that the act of embroidering, like other artistic and cultural mediating objects, can foster processes of narrativity and primary symbolization, operating as an aesthetic border and contour that enables important subjective shifts in the face of anguish.