Handwriting Analysis in Diagnosis and Treatment of Alcoholism

Abstract

This preliminary study of the alcoholic personality, based on handwriting material before and after the over-indulgence period shows a characteristic dynamic development which could be manifest in different forms. The prealcoholic individual apparently was subjected to a strong discipline by a strict Super-ego, and at the same time being quite vulnerable, due to a basic emotional sensitivity. The drastic change in the handwriting of the recovery period indicates that the postalcoholic individual has broken the chains of the early discipline. He starts to struggle with his self-image, tries to cope with his now liberated psychic dynamics, experiencing some emotional discomfort. He still has preserved his emotional sensitivity. One could conclude that the handwriting from the recovery period conveys the beginning of individual development.