When facing the unknown

    The other night I was driving down the dead-end dirt road that I live at the end of. I live in the high desert, close to the coyotes, jackrabbits, tarantulas, and other wild creatures. As I rambled down the road toward home, my headlights caught an owl swooping into the brambles to catch a rodent. I was struck by this rare sight of a creature I perceive as mysterious, hunting on silent wings in what is usually the dark of night. I started thinking about all that happens without being witnessed or understood by people, often in the darkness and wildernesses of the world. And I was reminded first of my work with people who resettle to the U.S. as refugees and then of the work of therapy in general. Catching something in the headlights offers an unnatural viewing of something mostly hidden: it looks different than it normally would, and can be misunderstood if taken at this version of face value. Perhaps the owl would have flown differently if not stunned by my headlights? Therapy sometimes presents an unnatural or personally/culturally filtered and influenced view of what is unknown or emerging from inside a client. Art therapy in particular can do this, as the creative process brings unknown aspects of self and buried experience to the surface even before a person has consciously thought of and talked about it. If taken at face value, such material can be misinterpreted and used incorrectly to the disadvantage of the person who carries these mysteries.
    How do we as clinicians handle another person's mystery with respect and care? I think if we first understand our own filters and biases, we can be mindful of how our own perceptions will always be somewhat inaccurate without collaboration with the person doing the sharing. In art therapy, this can look like the clinician asking many questions of the artist/client in regards to their art before responding with feedback, intervention, or a further art directive. I work with American children and adults as well as resettled refugees and other international folk. Although my work with clients from other cultures taught me much about the importance of realizing one's filters and biases as a clinician, I consider this awareness to be equally important in work with clients from the therapist's same culture.
    Some unknowns that emerge in a client's artwork may be only witnessed in the art with no direct verbal comment. Perhaps we talk of the shape of the image, the colors, or the texture, or we draw or make a movement in response to the art. This may be what is needed when the artist/client is working on a purely visual or archetypal plane. Bringing the meaning into the mundane of verbal awareness, such as a verbal interpretation, may reduce its power, dilute its meaning, or even stop the process. And some people may not be ready to bring their mystery into verbal consciousness. Perhaps a client is able to describe a traumatic event in a sculpture or collage, but the trauma that they carry is not yet at a place to be talked about. Pointing out what I see in the image or sandtray may make me temporarily feel like a clever, perceptive therapist, but when my client bursts into tears and cannot ground or calm down because he/she isn't yet able to talk about the content, I will feel not-so-clever pretty fast.
    My rule, as an art therapist who often works with trauma, is that I respond to a client's sharing in the same way(s) that the sharing was made. If a client is talking about and making art about a trauma, then I respond likewise. If the trauma is expressed only in art and the client is able to talk about the art elements but not the content, then I do the same. If I feel that the client is ready to move forward with their work, such as if I see that they have mastered some coping skills and increased their resources and support and seem able to look closer at their trauma, I may suggest a new way of addressing their unknowns or emerging mysteries. If the client is only making art, I may ask her to talk about the content. If the client is only talking, I may ask him to make art or do a sandtray in response to his disclosures. I may suggest a change in art materials as a way to expand the client's work with the unknown. This work is subtle and deep, and requires mindfulness and good assessment skills on the part of the therapist.
    The great thing about the creative therapies is that we have so many tools to help a client safely move through their past, their distress, and their unknowns. The creative process, when integrated in the therapeutic process, deeply enriches both.