Psychiatric Analysis of Black Swan



 

The following post was composed as an assignment for my Psychopathology Module, where we were required to watch a movie portraying someone with a Psychiatric Disorder. We were then required to submit an analysis about the presentation of the disorder in the movie. I chose the movie Black Swan as it was intriguing on many levels, and the protagonist had many layers to her disorder, making it all the more interesting to analyse.

 

“I had the craziest dream last night. I was dancing the White Swan”. Nina Sayers is a fragile and repressed ballerina, who strives for the lead in Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake," a role that will require her to play both the gentle white and the seductive black swans. Nina lives with her controlling mother and constantly strives for perfection. However, this is not enough for her demanding and sexually aggressive director who wants her to ‘lose herself’ in order to dance the seductive black swan to perfection. As the film progresses we see Nina’s descent into psychosis, as the stresses of being the lead ballerina and her mother’s emotional abuse become too much for her fragile state of mind. We see her embracing her role to the fullest and transforming from the virginal, pure white swan into a dark, ominous black swan.

Looking at Nina from a psychiatric point of view, she displayed many psychotic features associated with Schizophrenia. According to the DSM-IV-TR the diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia are as follows. The person must experience two (or more) of the following symptoms, each present for a significant portion of time for 1month and lasting more than 6 months: delusions; hallucinations; disorganized speech; grossly disorganized or catatonic behaviour; negative symptoms, i.e., affective flattening, alogia (poverty of speech), or avolition. They must also experience social or occupational dysfunction, and mood disorders and substance abuse must not be present.

The only disability in Life

A Reflective look at my visit to St. Thomas Children's Home

It was a sunny winters morning when the OT 3rd year students took a trip to the St Thomas Children's Home. Situated in the heart of Sydenham, St Thomas is a safe haven for underprivileged children who may be orphans or may have been removed from their homes due to lack of finances or an abusive relationship.  Working with these children was an interesting and enlightening experience. More than ever it makes you grateful for what  you have. Our morning was spent with boys and girls between the ages of 6-7 years old. We tried to engage them in some physical and competitive activity.  Many of them have developmental delays and some are also delayed in their physical development.

As with kids that age, they have much extra energy and as the weather was in our favour we decided to do an outdoor activity. We divided them into groups of 6 aside with boys and girls separately, and had them participate in relay races for fun and friendly competition. The warm up was a game of popping balloons where each person had a balloon tied to their leg and the aim was to win by popping as many balloons as you can but keeping your balloon safe.  This was a great way for the children to run around and release all their pent up energy. We  had many laughs and it really got everyone in the mood for a fun and exciting morning.

Possibilist!

Welcome to my Blog:)

Hi! A huge welcome to my first blog! I am a 3rd year Occupational Therapy student studying at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal in Durban, South Africa. For 3 years I have been juggling married life and OT student life, which has been very challenging to say the least. This blog will serve as an insight into the world of Occupational Therapy through my reflections on all OT related aspects of my life. I will try my best to keep it fun by adding interesting pictures and quotes I may come across. I hope to change many perceptions and attitudes about OT, as well as provide a  good resource for other Occupational Therapists around the world.

I'm sure many of you, like the many people I meet, will be wondering what Occupational Therapy is all about. Simply put Occupational therapy is a health profession whose goal is to help people achieve independence, meaning and satisfaction in all aspects of their lives. OT's treat anyone with injury, illness, disability or psychological dysfunction. Helping  to achieve independence is the main aim of OT. Most humans need independence to boost their self confidence and self esteem. Losing the ability to cope independently in simple activities can be extremely demeaning especially those activities which have meaning to the client. Someone with a physical or psychiatric disability will have difficulty performing basic activities of daily life such as self care, domestic, leisure and/or work tasks. OT's will look to improve components causing the dysfunction(example; treating decreased muscle strength or poor attention and concentration), and if this is not achieved we may teach new methods, make adaptations to the environment or provide assistive devices to ensure the client achieves maximal independence in their activities of daily living. In OT each client is treated holistically. What roles the client plays in his/her life, what activities have meaning for them, and their physical and social environment plays a key role in determining the direction of treatment.

What many people don't realize is that OT's have just as important role to play as the other health professionals. The personal satisfaction that comes from helping someone achieve some independence ,even by something simple like learning to eat or dress independently, can be extremely fulfilling.  Providing purpose to their otherwise meaningless existence can be life changing. With all the stresses we experience as OT students as well as the negative perceptions of other professionals out there, being an OT can be a tough career in South Africa. However, I personally love my profession and I would not want to be anything else for the rest of my life.

Remember a doctor may save your life, but an OT will teach you how to live!