Transference: Art Therapy Directives
Transference is a powerful healing component in therapeutic relationships. When it plays a major role in the work done in therapy, it takes finesse, self-awareness and great commitment on the part of both therapist and client to handle effectively.
The previous post Working with Transference describes how I see and work with transference as an art therapist and counselor. Here I wanted to flesh out some art therapy directives to use when transference is present in therapy. The art can serve several purposes. It can offer a "neutral zone" in which to approach a topic that leaves clients feeling very vulnerable. It can concretize for a client the projection that is occurring during transference. It can help the art therapist diffuse a form of transference that may appear very intense, bringing a third presence into the room via the art. When the time comes, it can help a client retrieve their projections onto the therapist and integrate those un-owned qualities, both good and bad, within the self.
1. Reflection: During transference the therapist mirrors an important person in the client's life with whom they have unfinished business. This is not done consciously on the part of the therapist, nor on the part of the client. It is often an actual person, such as a parent or a sibling, but it can also be an unowned persona that the client wishes to embody, such as artist, good parent, healer or leader. Directive: Ask the client to make an art piece in which some type of reflective surface is used. Offer small mirrors, foil, gold leaf, etc. Ask them to consider what they wish/fear to see in the mirror that they don't - or can't.
3. Inner Child: The most common projection occurring in transference is that of good mother or good father. This can be blatant when working with children (I have experienced this with children of many different cultural backgrounds through my work with refugees), and it can be more subtle or confusing when working with adults, especially if the adult is your same age or older. A way to work with this transference explicitly and indirectly at the same time is through art around the inner child. When someone is experiencing very strong positive transference of this kind with the therapist, it can be seen as inner child work. The wounded-child-version of the client feels safe with the therapist and yearns to have a positive parenting experience. The therapist models this for the client until the client learns to self-parent effectively. Through art therapy, we can encourage that inner child to make an appearance and find a safe place to be held. Directive: After introducing the idea of the inner child, ask client to imagine what their inner child looks like. If this alone is a charged and overwhelming exercise, work with the client to pendulate and return to calm. If the visualizing exercise is tolerable with or without pendulation, ask the client to create a safe space for their inner child to be in. It could be an actual small room, a painting of a house or structure, a constructed chair or cradle, a nest, etc. Offer various materials for this project. If the client then desires to make an inner child, this can be the next stage in the process. If having a container is enough, that's effective as well. Discuss what it feels like to have a space for the client's inner child to be out in the world. Discuss what else that inner child may need to feel not only safe but nurtured and celebrated. What does that child need to heal?
Working with transference is part of what I call the good work: it's a place of depth in this healing work that keeps both therapist and client engaged fully. It has the potential to be transformative, so that the therapist gets the opportunity to see a client not only reduce their symptoms but create an authentic and energizing life for themselves. It is an even greater satisfaction for me to see that process worked and chronicled through art.
The previous post Working with Transference describes how I see and work with transference as an art therapist and counselor. Here I wanted to flesh out some art therapy directives to use when transference is present in therapy. The art can serve several purposes. It can offer a "neutral zone" in which to approach a topic that leaves clients feeling very vulnerable. It can concretize for a client the projection that is occurring during transference. It can help the art therapist diffuse a form of transference that may appear very intense, bringing a third presence into the room via the art. When the time comes, it can help a client retrieve their projections onto the therapist and integrate those un-owned qualities, both good and bad, within the self.
1. Reflection: During transference the therapist mirrors an important person in the client's life with whom they have unfinished business. This is not done consciously on the part of the therapist, nor on the part of the client. It is often an actual person, such as a parent or a sibling, but it can also be an unowned persona that the client wishes to embody, such as artist, good parent, healer or leader. Directive: Ask the client to make an art piece in which some type of reflective surface is used. Offer small mirrors, foil, gold leaf, etc. Ask them to consider what they wish/fear to see in the mirror that they don't - or can't.
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| artwork by author |
2. Self-Portrait of Power: During active transference the client may wish for the therapist to do all the work and take the client to where they need to go. Projections of power onto the therapist may lead a client to feel dependent and disempowered if the therapist cannot handle that projected power with care and gently hand back the initiative - and the power - to the client when it is time. It is also important to honor the fact that the client may feel secure and safely led for the first time in his/her life and want some time to feel safe and heal in this place. So our job is to accept some of the power while also encouraging the client to maintain the lead role in their treatment. Our job is to hold that power gently and neither abuse it nor deny its presence. Directive: Ask the client to envision how they want to manifest their power, even if they don't feel powerful at present. What kind of power do they admire in others? If they admire power in the therapist, how would they like to manifest a similar power in themselves?
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| artwork by author |
3. Inner Child: The most common projection occurring in transference is that of good mother or good father. This can be blatant when working with children (I have experienced this with children of many different cultural backgrounds through my work with refugees), and it can be more subtle or confusing when working with adults, especially if the adult is your same age or older. A way to work with this transference explicitly and indirectly at the same time is through art around the inner child. When someone is experiencing very strong positive transference of this kind with the therapist, it can be seen as inner child work. The wounded-child-version of the client feels safe with the therapist and yearns to have a positive parenting experience. The therapist models this for the client until the client learns to self-parent effectively. Through art therapy, we can encourage that inner child to make an appearance and find a safe place to be held. Directive: After introducing the idea of the inner child, ask client to imagine what their inner child looks like. If this alone is a charged and overwhelming exercise, work with the client to pendulate and return to calm. If the visualizing exercise is tolerable with or without pendulation, ask the client to create a safe space for their inner child to be in. It could be an actual small room, a painting of a house or structure, a constructed chair or cradle, a nest, etc. Offer various materials for this project. If the client then desires to make an inner child, this can be the next stage in the process. If having a container is enough, that's effective as well. Discuss what it feels like to have a space for the client's inner child to be out in the world. Discuss what else that inner child may need to feel not only safe but nurtured and celebrated. What does that child need to heal?
Working with transference is part of what I call the good work: it's a place of depth in this healing work that keeps both therapist and client engaged fully. It has the potential to be transformative, so that the therapist gets the opportunity to see a client not only reduce their symptoms but create an authentic and energizing life for themselves. It is an even greater satisfaction for me to see that process worked and chronicled through art.
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