Art expression, in and of itself, is considered by many practitioners to be a form of active imagination. The images that arise from the process of spontaneous draw-ing, paintdraw-ing, or sculpting provide material that one can amplify through “sticking with the image” or continuing exploration through active imagination. In the follow-ing brief example, active imagination is illustrated through Jungian-based art therapy with a young woman, Jenna.
Case Example
Jenna was in her late 20s at the time she started therapy for depression and problems with her social relationships as a result of her dark mood. She also was struggling to break free from her mother who whose dependence on Jenna prevented Jenna from developing her own autonomy. Jenna did not feel that she was artistic but had kept a drawing and writing journal prior to entering therapy and wanted to continue using her journal as part of treatment. After several sessions I asked her if she would like to learn some techniques that she could apply to her journal work, particularly her in-terest in drawing. I explained the process of active imagination to her as a way to generate mental images, helped her to practice it during the session, and asked her to try it several times on her own before coming to the next session. I also suggested that if she wanted to, she could make a drawing in her journal of the images she saw during active imagination.
Jenna’s first “active imagination” images were of a dark tunnel at the end of which a star emerged (Figure 4.3). She recorded what she remembered of her initial active imagination experiences as follows: “At first I can only see darkness and then I realize that I am looking through a tunnel. Below me there is water, but I can’t see it because it is so dark. Ahead there seems to be a distant light so I decide to try to walk down the tun-nel to reach it. The light seems faint, like a small, white light. As I get closer, it seems to reflect on the walls of the tunnel. I begin to see that it is five-pointed star with many dif-ferent colors in it, and although it shines strongly, I can see all the patterns in it. Sud-denly, I feel that I can go no farther and give up trying to see anymore.”
In subsequent sessions she used the star image as a starting point for art expres-sion, both during our meetings and at home when she continued her active imagina-tion exercises. By “sticking to the image” Jenna was able to amplify her own mean-ings for her images through writing about them and by using them to develop more drawings. Her artwork and active imagination experiences eventually reflected a slow transformation from depression to more positive feelings about the future and to understanding how she could change her relationship with her mother to one in which she could feel more autonomy. Simultaneously, the star image moved from its original dark surroundings and eventually appeared as a multipointed star alone in the sky (Figure 4.4).
Jenna’s therapy was conducted over the course of several months, and fortu-nately, she was committed to staying with the process of active imagination, draw-ing, and writdraw-ing, despite severe bouts of depression on many days. Active imagina-tion requires that the person be ready and able to undertake the process of self-examination and expression. In other words, the client must become actively in-Psychoanalytic, Analytic, and Object Relations Approaches 51
52 CLINICAL APPROACHES TO ART THERAPY
FIGURE 4.3.Jenna’s active imagination drawing of a star at end of dark tunnel.
FIGURE 4.4.Jenna’s active imagination drawing of a multipointed star drawing.
volved in therapy and be willing to remain committed to staying with the images that emerge over what may be a long period. Jenna was ready to make that type of com-mitment and her active imagination work revealed a story of transformation and re-covery through both words and images. With the help of the therapist, she was able to sustain this process and find meaning for her images in relation to her life.
Jung’s technique of active imagination has been adapted by McNiff (1994), re-ferred to as “dialoguing with the image,” and others. These adaptations, as well as the original process of active imagination described by Jung and his followers, help the person and the therapist consider images created in therapy in a nonreductive way, as opposed to judging them through the lens of psychoanalytic theory. In Chap-ter 20 (this volume), Steinhardt provides a more detailed example of the process of Jungian analysis through the visual process of sandplay, illustrating both amplification and active imagination.
OBJECT RELATIONS
Object relations is a theory that is considered to be a contemporary trend of psycho-analytic theory (Corey, 1996). Therapists who subscribe to an object relations ap-proach to treatment believe that humans have an innate drive to form and maintain relationships and it is through our relationships with people around us that shapes our personality. Once formed, personality can be modified, but we tend to seek out others who reaffirm these early relationships. Object relations are interpersonal rela-tionships that shape an individual’s current interactions with people, both in reality and in fantasy (Corey, 1996). This theory provides a framework for understanding the ways clients superimpose early relationships and experiences on present relation-ships. Helping clients with issues of separation and individuation, dependence and independence, and intimacy are intrinsic to this approach.
The term “object” is at the center of object relations theory. Freud believed that an object was a person, thing, or mental representation through which one is gratified, while his student, Melanie Klein (1964) observed that it was someone (usually the mother) onto whom the child projects desires, wishes, or other powerful emotions. The concept of attachment is also at the foundation of object relations. Initially, a child is joined with mother, experiencing bonding along with good and bad aspects of that at-tachment; the task is to successfully separate from mother and eventually, with matu-rity, to take in all aspects, both good and bad, and develop autonomy. Recently, the con-cept of attachment found in object relations has taken on renewed interest in the work of Bowlby (1969), Karen (1998), and others with the goal in treatment of repairing de-velopmental deficits that may have resulted from early relationships.
In the field of art therapy, Robbins (1987, 2001) is best known for an object re-lations art therapy approach to treatment. In his work with adults with psychiatric problems, he observes that art can contain, organize, and mirror internal object rela-tions and the interplay between therapist, client, and art product. Art expression, an activity of early childhood, can be used at any age to reflect unfinished stages of de-velopment. Observing and facilitating art expression in therapy can help to amplify unresolved interpersonal issues that may need to be addressed in treatment.
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Henley (1991,1992) has developed an object relations approach in his work with children with developmental, emotional, and other disabilities. He notes that individu-als with developmental disabilities, including autism and mental retardation, and those with physical disabilities such as deafness or blindness, may lack a sense of self and may experience difficulties in relating to others. These individuals are well suited to an ob-ject relations approach because early attachments may be impaired or not fully devel-oped. Because object relations plots a developmental sequences of maturation and at-tachment to objects, it complements the art process encourages sensory stimulation, object formation, and interaction with both therapist and the art product.
Art adds a dimension to therapist–client interactions because it creates a setting in which individuation and separation can be witnessed, practiced, and mastered through creative experimentation and exploration. By its very nature, offering art materials is often perceived as a form of nurturing by providing the opportunity for creative expression, encouraging attachment to the therapist.
CONCEPTS INFLUENCING AN OBJECT RELATIONS APPROACH TO ART THERAPY
Transitional Space and Transitional Objects
Two concepts in object relations theory that are of particular interest to art therapy are Winnicott’s (1953) concepts of “transitional space” and “transitional objects.”
Transitional space is an intermediate area of experience where there is no clear dis-tinction between inner and outer reality. Art making and play activity are considered transitional spaces because they are ways that children bridge subjective and objec-tive realities and practice attachment and relationship to the world around them. The art process, including the presence of the therapist who facilitates and guides creative expression, is considered to be somewhat of a holding environment within which object relations can emerge and develop.
The term “transitional object” has been used by Winnicott to describe an actual object, such as a blanket or stuffed toy, that is important to the child because it repre-sents something beyond what it actually is. Art products can become transitional ob-jects which may become imbued with meaning beyond what they are in reality. For example, a drawing or painting made by a child who is dependent on the therapist for support may become a transitional object in the absence of the therapist, defusing separation anxiety. In a similar vein, an adult may make a clay figure of a parent who abandoned her as a child, symbolically evoking that person and the unresolved trau-ma of separation. Henley (1992) notes that the art product functions as a transitional object because it supports self-relationship and empowerment and encourages connection with the therapist who facilitates the creative expression.