Nise da Silveira and the revolutionary use of art as occupational therapy in the psychiatric context

This paper aims to review the biography and work of Nise da Silveira, a Brazilian psychiatrist who carried out revolutionary work in the treatment of the mentally ill. This paper follows a qualitative methodology with a narrative and documentary base, highlighting the importance of her innovative action that rescued Occupational Therapy with artistic tools, in which free expression and affective contact are favored as an alternative to the conventional treatments of the time, such as electroshock and lobotomy. From a comparative perspective, Jung’s analytical psychology concepts such as myths, archetypes and the collective unconscious are related to Nise’s psychiatric therapeutic experience. The presentation of some patients case studies leads to the conclusion that the symbols and archetypes revealed in the artistic images created in occupational therapy have a structuring and healing impact, which is still followed today in various therapeutic contexts.