Drawings of cephalopodes by schizophrenic patients, and their meaning

Abstract

Cephalopodes are formed by condensation of head and body. As a special form of mask, such drawings contribute to the understanding and representation of some important processes found in schizophrenia, namely: the disturbance in the “I-Now-Here” experience, the magic power of the image, the ambivalent-contradictory feelings, the perception of inevitable change and lack of control, and the emphasis on the internal-fantasy world.

The drawings of cephalopodes serve as an adaptational reaction to the above-mentioned processes, by mechanisms of condensation, symbolization and identification.