Songs of the Self: One Woman’s Journey through Music and Symbols Towards the End of Life

When music appears in the consulting room; whether it be implicit between analyst and patient or occurring in actual music‐making (as it does in music therapy), it can connect us with the self in an affective way that builds a bridge to the unconscious. This paper explores the therapeutic journey of a woman at the end of life who used music and symbols to explore her desire to ‘put her life in order’. The author explores an unusual request for therapy that combined music therapy and an analytic approach; considering the place of music within an analytic context and the ways in which this enabled the patient to make contact with aspects of self that had been buried in the unconscious. The author considers three songs that held particular meaning to the patient on her individuation journey, with a focus on the meaning of Gluck’s Che Farò Senza Euridice and the myth of Orpheus. She explores the meaning of a journey to the underworld to find Eurydice and, ultimately, to confront death.