Art Psychotherapy

Harriet Wadeson
Chapter 2
Advantages of Art Therapy

Imagery
We think in images. We thought in images before we had words. We could recognize
mother before we could say ‘mama’. No doubt other senses played a part too, such as
touch and smell, but it is evident that in the second half of the first year of life, babies
come to recognize their mothers by sight. Although some of us develop to become
more visually oriented than others (for example those with photographic memories
are an extreme), in all of us much of our preverbal thinking took the form of images.
Primary process is the psychoanalytic term used to denote primitive, id-related
experience. It would seem logical that much of this experience laid down early in life
(primary) has a significant image component. We can say, therefore, that imagery
probably plays a large part in early personality formation, the core experiences which
influence subsequent layers o personality development. (Such a scheme of personality
building in which each developmental stage is strongly influenced by its predecessors
is found in many, theories, but perhaps is most explicit in the concepts of Erikson).

In addition to imagery forming a base of experience in personality development, it is

also recognized as a primary component of unconscious phenomena. In writing about
dreams, which he considered to be the “royal road” to the unconscious, Freud (1963)
stated:
We experience it (a dream) predominantly in visual images; feelings may be present
too, and thoughts interwoven in it as well; the other senses may also experience something,
but nonetheless it is predominantly question of images. Part of the difficulty of giving an
account of dreams is due to our having to translate these images into words. “I could draw it”,
a dreamer often says to us, “but I don’t know how to say it.”

In Art Therapy the image of a dream, fantasy, or experience is depicted in images form
rather than having to be translated into words, as in purely verbal therapy. Jungians
have encouraged their clients to produce pictures of their dreams and, in many cases,
the interpretation of the pictures serve as the prime modality of a Jungian analysis.
Obviously words may be used to elaborate and associate to the art expression, but the
essential message is conveyed in image form.

In addition to the reflection of images, the art medium often stimulates the production
of images, tapping into primary process material and enhancing the creative process,
both narrowly in an artistic sense, and broadly in the creation of solutions in living.

Decreased Defenses
This attribute is closely related to the importance of imagery, discussed above.
Because verbalization is our primary mode of communication, we are more adept at
manipulating it and more facile in saying what we want to say and refraining from
saying what we don’t want to say than through other communicative modes. Art is a
less customary communicative vehicle for most people and therefore less amenable to
control. Unexpected things may burst forth in a picture or sculpture, sometimes totally
contrary to the intentions of its creator. This is one of the most exciting potentialities
in art therapy. Unexpected recognitions often form the leading edge of insight,
learning, and growth.

A common misconception about art therapy is that artistic ability is necessary for self
exploration through art expression. On the contrary, an artist may be less prone to
accidental “slips of the brush” due to a high degree of ability in manipulating the
materials. Occasionally I have worked with such people. On the other hand, I have also
conducted therapy with a number of art therapists who were both skillful artistically
and sophisticated psychologically, yet who were sufficiently open to self examination
to relax their controls and let their pictures speak to them.

Objectification
In addition to working in images, another unique attribute of art therapy is the
production of a tangible product. A particular advantage of there being a tangible
object produced is that it is often easier for a resistant patient to relate to the picture
than to the self. For example, a hospitalized depressed man initially spoke of the angry
expression on the face in his picture. He hadn`t intended for it to look that way and
didn`t understand why it had come out like that because he did not feel angry himself,
he said. Eventually he came to identify with the figure in this picture and recognized
his own anger. In this way the art expression can form a bridge. I call this process
“objectification” because feelings and ideas are at first externalized in an object
(picture or sculpture). The art object allows the individual, while separating from the
feelings, to recognize their existance. If all goes well, the feelings become owned and
integrated as a part of the self. Often this happens within one session. For particularly
resistant people, it may take longer. For example, an agitated depressed elderly man
denied for many months that his pictures had any relationship to his feelings. He had
been a craftsman and was adept at depicting tranquil scenes. Eventually he drew a
large smoldering volcano and recognized that it represented himself.

Permancence
Unique to art therapy is the permanence of the object produced. The advantage here
is that the picture or sculpture is not subject to the distortions of memory. It remains
the same and can be recalled intact months or years after its creation. I have found
that reviewing the art productions with clients is extremely beneficial. Sometime new
insight develop. Particularly helpful is noticing emerging patterns which may not be
apparent when the work is viewed singly. There have been times when clients have
forgotten a piece of work and seeing it recalls the feelings that were present at its
creation. In this way it is possible for both therapist an client to derive a sense of the
ongoing development that occurs in the therapeutic process. Such awareness can be
very encouraging to a client, who thereby comes to recognize his or her own progress.
Although it might seem likely that therapeutic progress would be self-evident, it is
striking how easily people tend to forget how things were and how they felt. A series
of pictures can provide ample documentation of the significant issues and their
affectual components.

Spatial Matrix
Verbalization is linear communication. First we say one thing, then another. Art
expression need not obey the rules of language, grammar, syntax, or logic. It is spatial
in nature. There is no time element. In art, relationships occur in space. Sometimes
this form of expression more nearly duplicates experience. If I were to tell you about
my family, I would tell you about my mother, then about my father, then about their
relationship to each other, then about my brother and his relationship to each of
them, then about each one’s relationship to me. Obviously, I experience all of this at
once. And in a picture I can portray it all at once. I can show closeness and distance,
bonds and divisions, similarities and differences, feelings, particular attributes, context
of family life, ad infinitum.

Creative and Physical Energy

For years I taught an evening art therapy course attended mostly by professionals.
They had worked all day and were tired when they came to class. It was primarily an
experiential course, but often there was discussion at the beginning. I was struck time
and again by how sleepy we all were until we began the art work. Then everyone
seemed to wake up, and the discussion following the picture-making was much livelier
than the initial interchange.

There seems to be an enlivening quality to be found in engaging in art expression. I

have noticed a comparable phenomenon in ongoing art therapy groups. In the
discussion following the drawing period, group members are often more open,
revealing, and receptive than in initial discussion, even though the former may have
been quite intense and probing.

I don’t know how to explain this observation, but I have experienced the change in
energy level in myself over and over again as well, as I have become ‘activated’ in art
activity. It may be simply a matter of physical movement, but I doubt it, since often the
physical activity is not that much greater than talking, I am more inclined to believe
that it is a release of creative energy and a more direct participation in experience than
in talking, especially “talking about”. At times the creative activity takes on the
character of play, and art therapy becomes more like fun t