Obsessional defenses and reading disabilities in adolescence as seen through art therapy

Abstract

Emotional factors frequently underlie the reading disabilities of adolescence. Conflicts centering around the expression of sexual and aggressive impulses appear to be closely related to problems in reading. The defenses which the adolescent uses to deal with these conflicts, especially the obsessive-compulsive defenses, are an important factor in the etiology of reading disabilities. This study is designed to seek evidence of obsessive-compulsive functioning in the art work of adolescents suffering from a functional reading disability. In comparison with organically-disabled readers and normal adolescents, the defenses of the functionally-disabled readers are more rigid and less effective in binding anxiety. The use of art therapy to uncover and work through the conflicts associated with reading disabilities and obsessional behavior is described and illustrated.