Page - 167 - in Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Puberty and Adolescence - The Inner Worlds of Teenagers and their Parents

Lost by the wayside – overstepping limits 167 R. said his drawing would sound like tender, romantic music – there are beautiful, sad songs too – would smell like the skin of a beloved person, and would taste of salt, either the salt on your skin or in tears that are shed. (Staudner -Moser 1997, 107) The drawing expresses R.’s ambivalence: not only pain and tears but also love are shown in a male face. Is there a possibility to integrate these two areas, or must they remain merely separate? His associations point to a sensual experience; per- haps his early experiences with his mother were beautiful and tender ones? R. can talk about his feelings impressively, and he feels accepted both by the group and the three trainers. He seems to be at the beginning of a learning process, which helps him be accepted by others with all his ambivalent feelings and vulnerability. R. cannot participate in the other exercises. The group is asked to write a let- ter to a victim, which makes them uneasy. R. demurs, asking the trainer if she is Figure 6.5 The broken heart of R. (from Staudner -Moser 1997)