Space Exploration: Beyond the Formal Elements

Abstract

This paper presentation explores the concept of space for two clients with Anorexia Nervosa. Space defined as “the volume, expansiveness, density of a particular image in relationship to its surround” is often solely explored as a formal element (Robbins, 1987, p. 105). Rather space has a wide range of connotations within the therapeutic realm. In space the past and present unify creating a distinct mood or an atmosphere (Robbins, 1987). This atmosphere or therapeutic space negotiates the physical, emotional, psychic, and liminal space in order to build relationships and trust. Space explored through an Object Relations perspective allows the earliest experiences of negotiation between selfobjects and provides containment through the exploration of past and present experiences.