that she was regarded as an object by Binswanger and suggested that she would be better if treated with client-centered therapy. Rogers also thought that her history was not pathological and she was an active girl. After breaking off her engagement because of disagreement with her parents, Ellen West experienced the estrangement of man from herself. It led her to lose a sense of belief about her experiences. To fit herself to other people's opinion, she lost weight and developed a dread of gaining weight. Binswanger diagnosed her with schizophrenia and he was pessimistic about her condition, fearing she would die by suicide after leaving the clinic; Rogers thought that this kind of thought made Ellen think herself disordered. Rogers suggested that if she opened her mind to her own experiences and accepted them, she could communicate with herself and it would lead her to developing better relationships with others. In popular culture Ellen West's life influenced poet Frank Bidart to write a Persona poem entitled "Ellen West." Decades later, Bidart also wrote a follow up poem entitled "Writing 'Ellen West,'" which, in contrast to the first poem, speaks directly on the poets experiences with West's story and its impact on him. The composer Ricky Ian Gordon composed an opera based on the Bidart poem. It was first staged at Opera Saratoga in 2019. Alternative rock band Throwing Muses recorded a song called "Ellen West" on their 1991 album The Real Ramona. Ellen West is mentioned in "What I Loved: A Novel" by Siri Hustvedt as a case study in a book about eating disorders published by Violet, a character in the novel. The Italian poet Simone Consorti dedicated to Ellen West his homonymous short poem "Ellen". See also Anorexia nervosa Existential therapy References External links Personality Theories: Existential Psychology by Dr. C. George Boeree Ellen West - Eating Disorders Julian Schwarz, Burkhart Brückner: Biography of Ellen West in: Biographical Archive of Psychiatry (BIAPSY). 1888 births 1921 suicides 20th-century Swiss people 20th-century Swiss women Suicides by poison Suicides in Switzerland