THE TREATMENT OF PLATH,SYLVIA

Although Sylvia Plath apparently sought psychotherapeutic help followi ng her first suicide attempt in her twenties, she did not have access to specialized forms of suicide assessment and intervention available in the present day. In this ''thought experiment,'' the authors drew o n material available in her journals and literary work to formulate a treatment plan for Plath, were she to be seen by a contemporary psycho therapist skilled in voice therapy. In particular, they focused on her inwardness, her preference for fantasy gratification, her self-denial , her addictive attachment to her mother and husband, and her negative thoughts toward self and cynicism toward others. The authors then ske tched out suicide risk assessment Procedures as they night be applied in her case, and illustrated a hypothetical voice therapy session desi gned to ameliorate her Perturbation and lethality during her last suic idal crisis.