Musicality in the consulting room

I describe the ubiquity of the musical-non-metaphorical, actually musical-dimension in the psychoanalytic encounter. I point out that this needs underlining since, strangely, it has been neglected in psychoanalytic literature until recent years, which I suggest is a legacy of Freud's aversion to music. I look at a wide range of psychoanalytic literature which invokes music metaphorically while neglecting its literal musicality. I also explore the possible musical dimension of texts which explore non-verbal emotionality. I consider the long-term effects on internal object relations and personality of pre-verbal, infantile musicality and also of musicality within the womb. I conclude with an extended clinical example.