Reading and discussion of literature classics applied to people with a severe psychiatric condition: a winnicottian analysis

This article aims to present part of the results of an investigation carried out with people with a severe psychiatric condition who participate in a psychotherapeutic group. Based on the methodology of the Reading Laboratory (LabLei), two literary experiences were held: 1) Reading of the work “The Alienist”, by Machado de Assis, with 11 meetings; and 2) Reading of the work “The Dream of a Ridiculous Man, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, with eight meetings. Overall, 25 people participated: 17 users in mental distress, six therapists, and two researchers. Subsequently, the researchers conducted six Oral History interviews, which were analyzed from a winnicottian perspective. As a result, the Reading Laboratory (LabLei) proved to provide effective help for the therapeutic space, favoring a mode of non-repetitive communication that revealed other psychological materials, enabling the creation of a space with potential for integrating the external and internal worlds, and fostering artistic expression and creativity

Mental health; Literature; Psychoanalysis; Madness and group