her drawing that gave a lead to the secret problem

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keannu

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I don't get what this sentence means. There's no further explanation about "her drawing" later. Is this "drawing" a figurative implication, not a picture? What does "give a lead" and "secret problem" each mean?

st20)I once saw a young girl who had spent months in hospital with paralyzed legs. As a last resort, her parents called in a psychologist, and the next day she was walking. She told me a story about her drawing that gave a lead to the secret problem. She felt guilty because she was growing too big-boned to be able to become a professional ballet dancer. Her family had invested so much in her ballet lessons, and expected a brilliant future for her. The psychologist helped her to see her many other talents she could develop, and that she needed no excuses for stopping serious ballet. She got out of bed and walked. The paralysis had been real, but its solution was not medical. It was the recognition of the unconscous conflict that cured her.
 

emsr2d2

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I'm afraid I can't make any sense of "her drawing" either.

"A lead" means the same here as it does in the sense of a criminal investigation. It's similar to a clue. Her "secret problem" was that she was worried about being too big-boned to be a ballet dancer and thereby concerned that she was letting down her parents. Once that "secret problem" was out in the open, the psychologist could base his treatment on the actual problem and she found herself able to walk again.
 

keannu

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I guess maybe the psycholgist used a picture therapy to draw out her secret problem from her unconsciousness. Maybe music therapy also works like a psycho therapy. They are similiar to hypnotism, I guess.
 

emsr2d2

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Yes, that's entirely possible and it would be my assumption. However, you said no reference to "drawings" is made anywhere else in the piece which I find rather strange.
 

keannu

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Without any reference in the writing, I couldn't help but make a long guess, jumping to conclusions. Hahaha!!
I try to take teachers' point of view here. Here I am a student, but somewhere else, I have to be a teacher, which is kind of shameful to you. Anyway, thanks a lot!
 
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