Case Study Of Swan Lake Psychology

THE CASE OF NINA

Cognitive-Behavioral Perspective

Background

Nina Sayers is in her mid-twenties pursuing ballet. She is often perceived as having a “sweet” personality. She is living in an apartment in New York City with her mother who gave up dancing for her daughter. Although already at her twenties, Nina’s mother treats her as if she is still a child. Nina is pressured by her mother since she pushes Nina for perfection in her dance career. Her mother mostly monitors and controls all of her actions and dictates her things that she should do.

Nina was chosen to play the lead role for “Swan Lake” which requires her to play contrasting lead characters of a gentle, innocent swan and a wild, seductive swan. Playing as an innocent character was not a difficult task for Nina but being the dark swan was. She was instructed by her dance director, who was demanding and sexually aggressive towards her, to do all the possible things she can to embrace and internalize her role as a dark evil swan. To maintain the lead role, she endlessly strive for perfection. She maintains a diet to achieve a certain body shape, rehearse most of her time and explore her sensuality.

She sees images and imagines events that are far from what actually had happened. She met a friend, named Lily who was one of the ballerinas in the Swan Lake play who was also taking an understudy for her role as the Swan Queen. Nina became highly suspicious and increasingly worried that Lily would steal the lead role